


Shingeki Ink

by helladeadinside



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Boxing, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Anxiety Disorder, Assault, Bullying, Depression, F/M, Fighting, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin) Swears, M/M, POV Eren Yeager, POV Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Panic Attacks, Suicide Attempt, Tattoo Artist Eren Yeager, Tattoo Artist Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Tattooed Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Tattoos, Violence, past Eren Yeager/Annie Leonhart - Freeform, swears, tattoo artist erwin smith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-01
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-02-19 11:20:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2386463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helladeadinside/pseuds/helladeadinside
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Jaeger decided he wants people to wear his artwork. As his first step to becoming a well off tattoo artist, he attempts to land an apprenticeship with world famous tattoo artist, Levi Ravaille. Eren follows Levi through the daily life of being a famous tattoo artist and owning a very popular ink parlor in New York City. Tattooing isn't the only thing Eren falls in love with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Apprenticeshit

Shingeki ink

Chapter 1: Apprenticeshit

Eren

This bench was really beginning to hurt. How long have I been sitting here? An hour, maybe? What I was doing was stupid, childish even. I was questioning what I'd gotten education for. What I thought I was ready to do with my life.

Do I still want this for myself? Of course, the answer was obvious. I want people to look at my work and want it on their body for the rest of their lives.

Some people would disagree with my opinion, but tattoos are absolutely amazing. They tell stories of peoples struggles and shows that you aren't afraid to stand out. I dedicate my life to becoming a well known tattoo artist. It's the next best thing to getting tattoos.

My eyes slid across the parlor name once again, reminding myself why I was here. Shingeki Ink in big, bold, cursive pink above an awning with a flashing open sign in the window. My heart told me to get my sorry ass off of this public bench and get my apprenticeship, but my head told me that I won't get it, that I'll be laughed at. Demeaned in front of a very important person. I rubbed my tired, dry eyes, inhaling a deep and fresh breath, I stood on knee-knocking legs. Making sure my stuff was secure in my back pack, I began crossing the road. Through an opening of cars, I rushed across the street. My Vans splashed water back on my jeans. As I entered Shingeki Ink, I noticed how high end this place really was. There was a front desk with a tall man standing behind it. His back was to the front door, so I didn't see his face. He was conversing with a woman with short, red hair. They both had bright and precise tattoos all over. The guy had sleeves with intricate designs and color. The guy turned his head to look at who had walked into their shop. His hair was neatly placed on the side. Everything about this man screamed precision. Finesse. The man looked like a Captain America look-alike. He was stunning. My tongue swelled in the back of my throat, making speaking difficult.

"Hello." His voice broke me out of my stupor. I ran my fingers back through my chocolate brown hair. I chuckled a little and stepped closer up to the desk. He smiled at me with straight, pearly white teeth. I felt the need to stop a blush going up my neck from reaching my cheeks. It worked, so I spoke.

"I have an appointment with Levi Ravaille." I told him. Big, blue irises followed every nervous twitch of mine. My front teeth gnawed on my lower lip, seeking comfort.

"For a tattoo? Piercing?"

"Apprenticeship request." I said with a nod. His eyebrows rose as he chortled.

"Levi hasn't been a mentor in a long time. None of the others really caught his interest..." He droned off at my frightened expression. "Sorry, I didn't mean to lower your confidence. I'm sure you'll do great. What's your name again?" He smiled a great, large smile. My insides melted slightly.

"Eren Jaeger, and thanks, I guess." I muttered, embarrassed. He came around the side of the desk and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and showed me to a waiting area with a few chairs and a magazine stand. The, obviously built, man told me to wait until Levi was ready to see me. I nodded my thanks and again with another dazzling smile, he left. My leg began to bounce anxiously on the floor. Before coming here, I had never thought Levi Ravaille would be stubborn choosing his apprentaces. What if he doesn't like me? Where else would I want to be an intern at? Shingeki Ink was the best of the best in New York. The artists are all payed well and known to many popular tattoo magazines. The owner and founder of Shingeki Ink, Levi, has appeared on the covers of many public reads and gains customers every day. He's majorly successful and I want to work for him.

Wanting something to do with my hands, my right one snaked into my pocket to pull out my phone. I opened up a message to send to Mikasa, telling her what the man said and confiding my fears of failure. She told me to stop being so negative all the time. Mikasa is my rock when my confidence is low and I feel like becoming a tattoo artist under one of the best in the world isn't possible, she plays the overly-protective sister roll.

Suddenly, the extremely attractive desk manager comes in. He let his eyes wonder over my face before his pink lips twisted into a smerk.

"Levi will see you now." He walked me past the desk in the middle in the room where the woman with short, red hair followed me with her eyes. She smiled encouragingly.

The man, who I haven't gotten the name of, brought me to a set of stairs. They had windows that overlooked the city. I stopped, my face turning to one of wonder. There was a breathy chuckle from the amazing man. "You're a sucker for pretty sights, I see." I looked back at him, my cheeks slightly rosy. I wasn't willing to admit I was. Instead, I shrugged and smiled at the white clouds against the azure sky. "Erwin, by the way." He said while running his fingers back through his hair. He looked like an Erwin.

"We should probably get to Levi if I even want to be considered for this apprenticeship." He belted a laugh as the ends if his eyes crinkled. Erwin agreed, so we continued on. We got to an apartment looking door and Erwin knocked. I gulped, waiting to see the famous Levi. The door swung open and he was there, right in front of my eyes. What a sight he was. His hair was perfectly straight and parted in the middle with an undercut in the back. Tattoos covered his body, or at least the visible parts. They went up his neck and disappeared under a beige sweater with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wore blue jeans with a belt that had a chain running into his pocket. He had a septum ring in his nose and ring in his lip. His eyes were a slate grey with a hint of blue and a pair of black, rectangle framed glasses. They were disinterested as they stared at my figure up and down. Get this; I was taller than him. He was just a tad shorter than me and I assumed he wasn't happy with that. With a sigh, he opened his door wider and let me in. Erwin smiled at me and turned to go back downstairs. The door shut and Levi waved me to follow him. He sat in a chair on the end of a coffee table and showed his hand to the couch diagonal from him. I swung my backpack from my shoulders, sat down and let it rest on my feet. He stared at me for a moment before leaning his elbow on the armrest and rested his face on his hand.

"You're Eren Jaeger, right?" He asked inquisitively. His voice was deep and rich, with a slight accent. Giving his last name, I assumed he was incredibly French.

"I, uh, yes." I said with a nod. Levi closed his eyes.

"German?" He said in reference to my name.

"Yeah. My father is German and my mother was Japanese." He nodded his head slowly and opened his cold eyes to stare at me. His gaze was heavy and made me squirm.

"Be honest with me, brat. You're not actually here for an apprenticeship are you?" He said, his voice now a bit louder. Before, he was just barely whispering. My eyes widened and I went into stutters.

"Oh, yeah I am here for a apprenticeship. Is that hard to believe or something?" I asked, somewhat offended. Levi leaned on his hand heavily and watched me carefully.

"Well, I mean are you even out of highschool? You look seventeen." I almost flinched at his dig at my age. I sighed a little and opened my mouth.

"I'm twenty two." I said through clenched teeth. His eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Other than that, you look like you'd be scared to even walk past a tattoo parlor besides the ring in your nose." My fingers played with the ring piercing before I folded my hands in my lap.

"You're right. I don't have any tattoos. It's a shame I don't. I can't scar my body with works of art." I told him while finding a window to stare at instead of his questioning glare.

"I might regret asking, but why can't you get a tattoo?" I gulped and opened my mouth to tell him.

"There's something wrong with my nerves. My pain tolerance is so low it's not considered normal. Minor injuries feel like severe ones. The pain would be unbearable if I were to get a tattoo. My doctor suggests I don't even try, that the effects the pain would have on my body would be too dangerous. I was screaming in pain from my nose piercing. It's the only thing I have." Levi was silent but I knew he was listening.

"I've never met a tattoo artist without tattoos before." He muttered. In a thinking manor, he rubbed his chin. "You have some of your work with you, I assume." I reached into my bag and handed him a Manila folder with my art. I was the best at black and white shading, and detail. My works had dark twists to it. His face seemed impassive as he looked through my work. He snapped it closed and looked back at me. "You're interesting, Jaeger. Tell me more about yourself." Suddenly he had a smirk on his face. He was amused, somewhat. I wasn't sure why. I wasn't an amusing person, the last I checked. Nor interesting.

"Well, my mom died when I was ten. Cancer. My dad ran off at some point. I have no idea where he went off to. My sister and I bounced around in foster homes since we were both children. When Mikasa turned eighteen, she left the system and took me with her. Wanting a fresh start, we moved to New York. Three years later, here I am." Levi breathed in and out deeply. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to Levi. I knew he had been captivating on the magazines, but he looked even better in person. His skin was fair and pail. I wanted to sooth my hands over his delicate tattoos.

"You have quite the story, kid. I give out compliments generously because if not, it inflates their ego and no one wants that. But you have potential. Your work is fascinating and I'm drawn by your techniques." I smiled brightly. He looked away to the window.

"Thank you, sir." I replied.

"But you have a long way to go before you're good enough for my parlor. I'll be honest, Jaeger. I don't like having apprentices. So, I'm sorry. If I change my mind, I'll give you a call." My spirits fell at an alarming rate. Face slacked in the happiness I felt earlier, now sagged with sadness.

"I understand..."I mumbled, disappointment smacking me in the face. "I'm sorry for wasting your time, Mr. Ravaille." I swallowed the lump in my throat and stood. Levi Lead me to the door and opened it to lead me out. With shaking hands, I picked up my bag and walked towards the door with my face tilted downwards. He took me to the front door of the parlor and wished me luck.

As soon as I saw a bus stop, I dropped down onto the bench. Deeply, I breathed in and out for a few minutes. Levi Ravaille just told me he liked my work, and rejected me. I bent over and rested my head into my lap. Why doesn't he like having apprentices? Does he not like teaching or something? What if he just said that to spare my feelings? I brought my head up to look at the sky. It was blue with puffy clouds all over. It was supposed to rain today, but not until later. My phone buzzed in my pocket, someone was calling me. After pulling my phone out, I saw it was Mikasa. She's going to be so mad. We were supposed to go out for drinks after I got my apprenticeship. Obviously, that's not happening.

"Hello." I said into the phone in a quiet voice.

"Eren! How did the interview with Levi Ravaille go? What time are we going out? I was thinking we could go to this place more downtown and maybe bring Armi-" I cute of Mikasa, who was getting more than a little ahead of herself.

"Mikasa, I didn't get it. I didn't get the apprenticeship." I almost shouted. She became quiet instantly.

"You what? Why not? Your art is amazing! Who the hell wouldn't accept you?" She was livid, angry at Levi probably.

"He said he didn't like having apprentices. Otherwise, I apparently have 'potential'." My voice became soft and saddened once again.

Mikasa groaned. "Okay, well you know what? Fuck him. We'll go out tonight anyways. You don't need to apprentice for Shingeki Ink. There are plenty of other popular tattoo parlors. We live in New York for fuck sake." I smiled a little and chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm coming home. I'll see you in a little bit." I hung up and stood to walk my sorry ass home.

Later that night, Mikasa and I dressed as nice as we could and left to pick up Armin. We decided upon this bar downtown that had live music every night. Once we pulled up to Armin's house, he came walking out. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail to keep it out of the way. He swapped his wire framed glasses for contacts tonight. A light blue button up with a fold over collar and a pair of dark jeans was his outfit of choice tonight. The door opened again behind him, someone else coming out of the small, blue house. My eyes widened and my head whipped to look at Mikasa's guilty face.

"What the hell is he doing?" I asked my sister, pointedly at Jean making his way to catch up with Armin.

"I invited him..." She muttered, her hands tightening around the steering wheel.

"What?" I hissed as Armin and Jean climbed into the car.

"Hey, guys!" Armin said, smiling at us through the review mirror. I smiled painfully back.

"Hi." My cheeks burned from the spurious expression.

"Jaeger." Jean sneered, as if disgusted by my mere presence. Watch it, Horseshit.

"Horse." I replied with equal, if not more, attitude.

Jean's eyes narrowed. "Nice outfit. Mikasa has good taste." Jaw clenched at the dig, I assessed he meant that I couldn't even pick my own damn clothes out myself.

My reply was swift, knowing it would silence Jean for at least the rest of the car ride. "Oh, I know she has good taste. Otherwise, she wouldn't have rejected you five billion times." Boy, I was so right. Mikasa snorted at my comeback, not even bothering to chide me for being immature. It wasn't my fault Jean wanted to irritate me like that all the time. Armin simply rolled his azure eyes. You could practically see steam billowing from his ears and I didn't hear Jean's annoying voice for the rest of the way. When the quiet became inevitably still, I turned the volume dial up on the radio. AC-DC reverberated throughout the small Buick as we entered the nightlife of New York City. My fingers tapped the tune of "Back In Black" on my knee while we weaved our way through traffic. Finally, we arrived at the semi-packed bar. We showed our IDs to the bouncer, me hoping they would card Jean and claim his ID was fake. We don't always get what we want. As we searched the bar, Armin found us a nice table that was void from a lot of people. Being around too many make me kind of uncomfortable.

Mikasa ordered a pitcher of beer for the whole table, but I declined. Instead, I ordered a fruity cocktail.

"How did I know you were going to go for the girly drinks?" Jean decided to pipe in. I ran my fingers through my hair excessively.

"Beer tastes like piss." I argued. Jean rolled his eyes.

"You just don't have a man's taste buds." He said with a dramatic sigh. Mikasa glared.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, her voice wavering with pent up anger.

Jean paled. "N-Nothing."

"Anyways!" Armin jumped in, directing our attention to him. He cleared his throat and turned to me with a large smile. "So, how did your meeting with Levi Ravaille go?"

I looked at the table and followed the pattern of wood grain with my eyes.

"I... Didn't get it." Mikasa put her hand on my shoulder.

Armin whined. "Why not? Your art is amazing, Eren! How did he not see that?"

"He said I have potential. Supposedly, he doesn't like having apprentices." I replied while chewing on the inside of my cheek.

Jean opened his mouth and at this point, I would have preferred it to be a black hole coming out instead of words.

"Yeah, okay. I bet he said that to spare your little feelings. Didn't want a sniveling shithead on his hands." Jean talked and talked. His words rattled inside my skull. What if Levi hadn't liked my work at all? What if I'm not as good as I thought? My pulse quickened and there was a burn in my eyes. Jean was a faint whisper in my ear as my mind worked a million miles an hour. Suddenly, I bolted from my chair and went for the door. Air. I needed fresh air. That bar was beginning to make me light headed. There was just one too many horses packed in there and I was feeling suffocated in that thick atmosphere. As soon as the cool, urban air hit my lungs, it was like a blessing. I sighed deeply and cast my eyes to the sky. The moon seemed to be mocking me as it half hid behind gray clouds.

I heard the door open behind me. I was ready for it to be Mikasa. Spinning on my heel, I opened my mouth to tell her to go back inside and that I needed to be alone. Instead, I came face to face with a man I didn't think I'd see again. At least not so soon. There was a cigarette dangling between his pink lips, waiting to be lit. My eyes widened and my mouth floundered for words. He didn't say anything, but held open a pack of cigarettes in front of me. He was offering me one. I shook my head.

"No?" Levi said. He snapped the lid closed and stuck them in his coat pocket. From the same pocket, he produced a lighter and lit the end of his cancer stick.

"That's not very healthy." I commented. Levi took a long drag, the ember glowing orange, the lighting casting shadows across my face.

"No shit. I try quitting, but it's harder than you'd think." He blew the smoke off to the side, making sure not to get it in my vicinity, which was greatly appreciated.

"I never picked up the habit." I said, scuffing my shoe across the pavement. Cars drove past us, people walked around us.

"Lucky you, then." There was kind of an awkward silence for a few moments. "So, you came here with friends. Why aren't you with them?"

I chose my words carefully. "Just got a bit overwhelmed."

"Don't go out much, kid?" Levi asked, smoke tendrils floating out of his mouth like an octopus crawling out of the depths of the ocean.

I shook my head no, honesty being the best policy.

"I heard that ugly motherfucker in there talking to you like that. The one with the two different colored hair and fucked up undercut?" I glanced at his hair with a raised eyebrow. His pale grey eyes rolled. "My undercut is perfect. His looks like he used a damn weed-whacker to cut it."

To my surprise, I laughed. It wasn't a hearty, overdone laugh. A chuckle, really. Or a giggle. Dear God, I hope it wasn't a giggle. "It's fine, I guess. Jean and I have always talked to each other like that. We push each other's buttons."

"Well, he was wrong anyways." His eyes closed while he inhaled another drag from the cigarette, it slowly burning shorter. I took this time to assess his attire this evening. He wore a pair of tight, grey jeans with black Chukka boots. They were sleek and fresh. His leather jacket was left unzipped over a black sweater with white stripes in the form of boxes all over. Levi's hair was pin-straight, as any other time I've seen him. His porcelain complexion was flawless and contrasted perfectly with his dark selection of colors, and of course tattoos peeked out under the neckline and sleeves. His blueish gray eyes opened and focused on me, so I acted like I hadn't just been checking him out.

"He was?" I asked, intrigued. Levi flicked ash off the end of his cigarette and nodded.

"Of course. I told you before, I don't sugar coat so if I said it was good, then it was."

"Right. And you actually just don't like having apprentices?"

Levi bobbed his head again.

"Can I ask why?"

"You can, but I won't tell you shit." I had a feeling that I was going to get an answer similar to that.

I laughed. "Fair enough."

There was silence.

"Eren?" Levi said. I glanced at him and there was some kind of expression on his face and I couldn't tell if it was a nervous look or something else. "Would you still be interested in being my apprentice?"

My mouth dropped. Did he just say what I think he said?

"Well, yeah." I claimed with a growing smile.

He dropped the cigarette and stomped on it. "Okay. Be there at ten AM tomorrow."

Surprise and excitement battled for dominance in my chest. "What changed your mind?"

"Honestly? I don't know. Maybe I just like you for some reason." My heart skipped. Levi liked me? He was okay with me? "Now, go back in there and tell that long-faced asshole to fuck off."

"I think he looks like a horse." I replied with a toothy smile.

Levi laughed suddenly and it was a wonderful chime. Once composed, he replied. "He does, now that you say so." I began walking back into the bar when I turned back around.

"Thank you, Mr. Ravaille."

"Eh, don't worry about it. And call me Levi, I'm not that old." He shrugged his muscled shoulders.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Levi."

As I went back inside, there was warm burning in my stomach and I felt delirious, but I doubted it was from the smell of cigarette.


	2. Easy Targets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I know my stories are kind of going slow at the moment, but I've been pretty preoccupied with school lately. Sorry for that. :(  
> Also, I've been having some pretty difficult writers block lately. I like writing, I just sometimes can't get past certain road blocks. But I'll keep trying.   
> Uprising should be finishing up soon, and I will come out with another Afterlife soon, I promise. It's in progress, slowly but surely.  
> Thanks guys :)

Shingeki Ink

Chapter 2: Easy Targets

Levi

With a huff, I dropped myself into the chair I previously occupied before I noticed Eren leave the bar. Seeing him here startled me. I'd actually forgot he was even old enough to drink. He was twenty-two and I had to keep reminding myself that. The cigarette taste still on my tongue irritated me, so I popped a piece of gum into my mouth. I sighed while stirring the candy. The table stopped talking and turned to look at me. With narrowed eyes, I glanced at everyone.

"What?" I growled. Erwin took a long sip of his beer, the increments of a smirk playing his lips.

"Nothing, dear." Hanji said with a knowing tone.

"That was that kid from today, right? The one who came looking for an apprenticeship?" Petra asked, stirring her straw in her fizzy, alcoholic beverage. She looked stunning tonight. Her hair was straight as always. Her lips were a deep, velvet red and she extenuated her eyes with dark mascara and eyeliner. Her cheeks sparkled with a flower petal pink blush. Petra wore a purple tank top and dark jeans. If I was straight, I'd fall for her as soon as I laid my eyes on her. She was nice, cute, and caring. But she could kick some ass, if need be. We've been friends for a long time, so we were technically like siblings. Honestly, we were all kind of like a little family if you really thought about it.

Erwin hummed while nibbling on his straw. Now, Erwin, I could never ever fall for. He's too good of a friend for that. But I know it would be easy to if the situation was different. He was one of the most attractive men I'd ever seen, and he was all too kind.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "I remember now! His name is Eren." He announced. "What did you guys talk about?"

I sighed, relenting to tell them of my new apprentice. They would find out tomorrow when he showed up at the shop anyways.

"I decided to give him a chance as my... apprentice." I said it calmly, but Hanji threw a party.

"Oh wow, really?! That's great! It'll be nice to have someone younger around." She practically screamed.

Looking over at Erwin, I noticed a tinge of red to his cheeks. "He's kind of cute, don't you think?"

I didn't really know how to answer that, because yes, I thought Eren was adorable.

"He's twenty-two, Erwin. Way too young for your crusty ass." I muttered into my glass of wine.

"Really? Hey, twenty-eight isn't much of a difference." He whined, basically. I groaned and rubbed the bridge of my nose with my forefinger and thumb. "You don't mind if I give it a shot, right?"

I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they would have fallen right out of my head. "I'm not your fucking mother, Erwin. You can date whoever you want, I don't give a shit." The words left a bitter taste in my mouth, although I was unsure why. Yeah, the kid was kind of cute. Big whoopee fucking doo. If he's going to be my apprentice, there's no way I can even think about him as anything more. It would be completely unprofessional and distracting, even. Let's think rationally here; what's the chance he even likes men? Not very large, I'd assume.

Erwin smiled. "Right."

Without realizing it, I glanced back at Eren's table. He sat with a girl with long, dark hair. She seemed to be more secluded than the others. Her face held a blank expression at she watched that horse-faced kid talk. Eren didn't seem to be amused by whatever he was saying, so he just sat with his broad shoulders slouched and his hands rubbing over every surface of his face like he was trying to wipe whatever that kid was spewing from his olive skin. The blond one seemed to be nice enough, paying attention to everything horse-face said like it was the schematics for the deactivation of a nuclear bomb.

Eren moved a piece of wavy, oak brown hair from his face. His jade eyes blinked slowly, like he was just itching to be asleep right now. The black ring in his nose shined under what little lighting there was. Eren's high cheekbones and sharp jaw-line actually made him look older for the moment, and now I suddenly saw how old he really looked. He was seriously tall, at least compared to me; fuck genetics to hell. Eren wore a forest green button up with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and a pair of black jeans with old-looking Chucks. I expected nothing less. Even though his clothes were kind of cheap, he made them look damn good honestly.

But, I pushed that out of my mind.

The night went by a little faster once I did that. Hanji, Erwin and I walked back to the apartments with alcohol in our stomachs. I felt somewhat dizzy, but at least I was coherent. Erwin carried a drunk ass Hanji into the building. We called goodnight to each other and went in our separate apartments, me passing out barely after changing my clothes.

I woke up the next morning with a slight headache, to which I put a swift stop to with some medication. After showering, and picking out and putting on my clothes for the day, I checked the time again. It was nine thirty AM, so I made some toast with blackberry jam and brought it down with me to the shop. Erwin was already organizing things on the front desk and doing some paperwork. Hanji was drinking coffee greedily from a mug that said "Don't Talk To Me". It's mine, but Hanji asks to use it whenever she wants coffee at the shop, so now she just takes it without asking. I used to gripe about it, but now I just don't care enough. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail and she shied away from sunlight.

"Good morning, Hanji." I greeted, purposely slamming the stairwell door. It echoed off the walls. She let out a high-pitched yelp and jumped in her computer chair.

"Leeeviiiii..." Hanji whined, cradling her mug to her chest.

"You should know not to get overly shit faced on a weeknight. It's common sense, Four-Eyes." I concluded, she sighed and rubbed her forehead. Today she decided on a pair of sweatpants, a black tank-top and red high-tops on her feet. I didn't really reinforce a dress code for my employees, but they know their boundaries. Most of the time, anyways.

I heard Erwin chuckle softly, more of a breath of air. Glancing at the big clock on the wall above the balcony over the break area. The tattooing rooms are private rooms adjoining each other in hallways in next to the waiting area. The clock read 9:45. Eren would be here soon. I munched on my toast at the managing desk.

"Eren's coming today, right?" Petra asked as she entered the room with a cup of coffee for herself. I nodded, chewing slowly. I noted Erwin's small smile and my eyes narrowed. What was he planning? I don't care if he wants to hook up with Eren, by all means, it's none of my business. But if this causes a problem within the shop, I won't be a happy man. Apprentices are already so much work, I don't want to get caught up in their bullshit if things don't go well.

On top of that, I hoped Eren would get along with everyone alright. He seems like a generally nice person, so that just makes him already okay with Petra. Hanji can't take an insult seriously enough to resent someone. Trust me, she would hate me if that weren't the case. Erwin has obviously taken a liking to him in the short time they've spoken. What have they talked about? Surely Erwin started conversation with him about something. He wouldn't just keep his mouth shut to Eren. Did they talk about me at all? Why would I care?

"Levi?" I hear through the crunching of toast in my mouth. I gulped it down, and hummed to Petra. Her perfect, auburn eyebrow cocked at a 45 degree angle. "Are you okay? Are you nervous?" The concern in her eyes made me look away.

"No, I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well last night..."

"It's just... This is your first apprentice since, you know..." She muttered, looking down into her dark brown liquid. I brushed past her to put the plate that had a still whole piece of toast in the garbage.

"Yeah, I know." I answered simply, wanting to get away from that topic as fast as I could. The front door opened with the ring of a bell, alerting all in earshot that someone had arrived. When the door shut, I heard a friendly greeting from Erwin. "Hello, Eren!"

He was here. I had to go be a mentor again. I swore I would never teach again and for a good damn reason, too. I sighed and made sure I looked presentable. I rolled up the sleeves on the black sweater and pulled up my white washed blue jeans that folded just below the knee. My tan Toms moved comfortably with my anxious feet. I pushed up my glasses and patted down my hair. Tongue searching everywhere in my mouth for seeds from the blackberry jam, I headed into the entrance.

"Morning, Jaeger." I remarked with my arms crossed over my chest. This was easy, I could do this. He looked up with a toothy smile, his emerald eyes almost stopping me in my tracks. They really were something else. At first glance, they seemed bright and just stunning. But, in its depths was something almost painful. Although he didn't go into specifics, he was apparently bounced around in foster homes. His mother died when he was young, and then his father went off the grid. What was this I was feeling in my chest? This tightening?

Eren wore a tight, light blue tee-shirt and dark jeans. You could see his toned arms and chest muscles through the shirt. My eyes were physically drawn to them, so I turned around and began shuffling through paperwork for my schedule for the day.

"Are you excited?" I heard Erwin ask Eren.

"Yeah, I can't wait. I just hope I don't mess up something..." He mumbled. I turned around once my schedule was in hand. I caught sight on a sympathetic Erwin hand squeeze his shoulder. I grit my teeth.

"I'm not gonna have you do anything too stressful today. I have a photo-shoot at noon, so you can come with me to that, and then after I have some appointments you can observe in on for today. For right now, I'm going to give you a tour around the shop." I said over the counter. Eren nodded.

"Yes, sir." He replied. I rolled my eyes.

"Levi." I corrected for him. He simply smiled and shrugged guiltily. It was kind of... no, never mind.

"Do you want me to come along as well?" Erwin asked with an innocent smile.

"No," I answered a little too quickly. Erwin rose his bushy eyebrow. "I mean, I have some paperwork you need to take care of." Which was true, but it technically didn't need to get done this second. Oh, well.

He nodded. "Well, alright. I'll see you later, Eren." Erwin retreated to his office where I left a stack of appointments to go through and schedule.

"Come on, kid." I said to Eren, waving him to follow me. There was a desk separate to the manager's desk that I decided to give to Eren, considering no one uses it. He set his stuff on it and continued following me around the shop. I took him to the break room first.

"This is where we have lunch, or take breaks between tattoos and whatnot. Tip for the fridge," I pointed to the fridge where we store lunches we make for break that day. "If you put food in there, label your damn name on it or someone will eat your pork sandwich." I said, still angry over Hanji taking my lunch a few weeks ago. He chuckled.

"Speaking from personal experience?" He asked while crossing his arms. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Sadly." I answered vaguely. He laughed again and I decided that I liked the sound. I lead him to the hallway with the private tattooing rooms. The doorways and doors themselves were a dark, cherry oak that contrasted perfectly with the light blue walls. I showed him one of the rooms and explained that all the rooms looked alike. Then, I started with the invasive questions to see what I was working with.

"Have you ever tattooed anyone before?" I asked. Eren, who was looking at the machine set in the corner of the room, looked up with a deer in the headlights look. His eyes were so bright.

"Actually, yeah. I tattooed my sister before. She has it on her thigh." My eyebrows rose slightly, impressed by the trust between him and his sister.

"She must have a lot of faith in her younger brother." I commented.

He shrugged. "She wanted me to because of her low pain tolerance. It turned out okay in my opinion, and Mikasa liked it so I didn't see a problem with it." For some reason, I wanted to see this tattoo of his.

"And that was your first, real, tattoo?"

"Yeah." He nodded. Once I decided that I felt the need to see this tattoo of his, we continued on in the building. I showed him the waiting area and Erwin's office. After that, I took him to my office. It was on the top floor and was a decent size. As soon as you walked in, you could feel the cherry blossom smell mixed with the air conditioning dance across your skin. There was a cherry oak desk in the back of the room, right in front of large picture windows that let in the light and scenery of New York City. The sky was as azure as could be and the clouds were puffy and white. I could tell instantly that Eren was taken by the view.

"Wow..." He breathed. I watched his wondrous face form a star stricken expression.

"Good thing I made the contractors put in these windows, huh?" I asked, making my way to my desk. I dropped down into my chair while simultaneously propping my feet on the desk and lacing my fingers behind my head. When I looked up, his eyes moved from the windows to me. I crooked my eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah. That was a good idea." He coughed and sat down in one of the chairs across from my desk. I watched him get comfortable while letting his eyes roam around the open-concept styled room. The white walls contrasted well with the one grey wall on the left side. There was a tank of tropical fish against the wall on the opposite side. Eren stopped suddenly at the sight of the grand piano in the corner. "Do you play?"

I shrugged. "Not really. I know the fundamentals, but I kept that mostly because it was my grandmother's."

He nodded. "It'd be really expensive if you found it in stores. If you wanted to, you'd get a lot of money selling it. Obviously, you don't, but you would..." He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and looked away.

"What makes you such a connoisseur of pianos?" I asked with a light scoff.

He looked up and I swore I saw the edges of his cheeks darken. "My mom was really into pianos. She played in the house all the time. It was her passion."

"Did she teach you anything?" It seemed Eren was not only artistically gifted, he was also musically gifted. I smirked and Eren laughed nervously.

"Yeah, I know how to play. I don't very often, but I can. I'm not too bad either, I guess." He played with a curl of hair on the base of his neck that swirled down onto his clavicle bone.

"Maybe someday you can play for me." I said before I could stop myself. Why did I say that? The piano is obviously a touchy subject, considering it reminded him of his late mother. "Someday." I added, insinuating that it didn't have to be now.

"S-Sure." He stuttered. I wasn't sure why, but this situation made him anxious. Or was it something else? Was it me making him so frazzled?

"Would you say you're a jumpy person?" He crossed his leg over the other and ran his hands back through his oak mane.

"Sometimes. It depends, really." Eren said.

"On?"

"If the situation is worth being nervous about." I wasn't sure if that made any sense, but I didn't question. Also, I wouldn't know. My nerves didn't jumble very often, so I couldn't quite understand where he was coming from. Usually, I was pretty sure of a lot of things in my life so I had no time or energy to be nervous.

"Is this a situation worth it?" I asked, but quietly like it was more to myself. It was, honestly, not directed at Eren. It was an inquiry for myself. Was this apprenticeship really that important to him? I glanced up to Eren's somber look. The expression wasn't right for him, so I changed the subject. "Anyways, I should be getting ready for the photo shoot. If you'll come with me to my apartment, that would be fantastic." I stood up and stretched out my back, my shirt lifting just above my inked hips. We left my office after I fed the fish and went down a flight of stairs. Eren just sat on the couch while I gathered some things. I didn't need to change my outfit or anything, the designers would do all of that. I made sure I had my lunch, my phone, phone charger-if needed- my contact case and of course, one very bouncy apprentice.

We went down the stairs and I met up with Erwin before heading out.

"Alright, Eyebrows, I'm going to the photo shoot for Ink Spread. If I'm not back by two, please tell my appointment to wait. I'm sure it won't kill them, yes?" I muttered. Erwin nodded with a crooked grin.

"Of course, dear." He said. I rolled my eyes and began for the back door to the parking alley. Eren followed me automatically. I lead him to my sleek, black Aston Martin Vanquish. Eren stopped dead as I unlocked the car with my remote starter.

"What?" I asked, turning around. His eyes roamed over every visible inch of my car with an open jaw and widened eyes. Beneath my breath, I chuckled. "It was very expensive and it's very clean, so understand if you get even a speck of dirt in it, I will break necks." I said nonchalantly. With a small smile, I climbed into the sterile vehicle. Eren blinked slowly and hurried over to the passenger side. He lowered into the seat with caution, but not without kicking off any grime from his Converse onto the concrete. I nodded to myself, already liking this kid. Once we were buckled in, I began driving with my playlist playing softly through the speakers. It was a a symphonic movement that my grandmother used to play. I hummed quietly to the tune. Glancing at Eren through my peripherals, I noticed him tapping out the notes on his knee with his left hand while staring out the window. I really wished that I could hear him play one day.

"So, other than piano and art, what else do you like to do?" I asked, honestly interested for once.

"Hm... I play the guitar, read books."He droned off, humming questionably. "I box a bit." Boxing? Yeah, I knew he kept his physique somehow. I couldn't really see the sport with him. He seemed like such a nice individual, not one who would give someone a broken nose and a black eye for the hell of it.

"Tell me about boxing. How did you get into it?" I wanted to keep the conversation going and I needed to know more about him.

"Well, a counselor I had at one of my foster homes suggested it. I guess I had anger problems and he wanted me to get it all out..." His eyes seemed to delve into something deeper as he faded off. Was he remembering the time when he had to box for the first time? Was he memorizing the sound of his fist against a punching bag? The idea of him having anger issues was so... preposterous. "I lashed out a lot as a teenager. Kids in the schools I went to weren't always the nicest. There was an asshole almost every one I went to. I couldn't take it." He shrugged and sighed. "I got into fights at school a lot, but I usually wasn't the one to instigate it. It was self defense most of the time, but the system didn't give a shit whether you started it or not. The foster kids always got picked on, they were already vulnerable enough."

That was probably the most I've heard Eren say at once, yet it made sense. I knew for damn sure some kids were cruel as hell, but I never let them pick on me in school.

"Easy targets." I mumbled.

"Exactly." Eren replied. "They were always the easiest to get riled up." And I understood why. "So, what about you? I told you somethings, now you tell me somethings. See how that works?" Eren joked. I sighed, relenting.

"I grew up in a military style family. My parents were as detached as one would expect two ex-marines to be. Of course, my brother was a military deity to them. I didn't want that life, so consider me the inked sheep among the cameo." That was all I decided to say for now. There wasn't much else to tell, so I stopped.

"I wouldn't have thought that about you. Although, you are kind of strict sometimes." Eren said to himself. I scoffed.

"Hey, I am for a good reason. Dumb asses don't listen unless you tell them in a firm way." I replied, defending my personality.

"Okay, sure." Eren laughed and the tightness was back in my chest. A warming, even. We were joking together now. Did that mean we were getting a better understanding of each other? Again, a professional relationship.

I pulled into a parking lot of a large building with windows all the way up. Parking into an open spot, I turned off the car.

"Before we go in there, I should warn you." I told him. His hand was around the handle, ready to vacate my car. One oak eyebrow quirked upwards.

"About...?"

I sighed and rubbed my hands over my face. "Things get a bit hectic in there. People running around, shouting, organizing, deffinetly some pissed off photographers. Some models are harder to handle than others." Eren stayed quiet, but I knew he was listening. "Also... A few people may ask if they can give you a make over. It sounds pretty stupid, I know, but they're basically junkies for new skin to powder. The first time I brought in Erwin, they went fucking mental. If they ask, you can say no if you want. Otherwise, no one will bother you unless it's me. Just stay out of their way and you'll be fine."

Eren's mouth tipped in a smirk and he nodded. "Okay, yeah."

"Let's get this over with." We opened the doors simultaneously and exited the vehicle. The entrance was large, looming over us as if we were it's prey. And I suppose, we sort of were.


	3. Give Me The Money You Don't Have

Shingeki Ink

Chapter 3: Give Me The Money You Don't Have

Eren

The lobby of the magazine building was tremendous. Probably bigger than Mikasa's and mine apartment all together. As intimidating as the room was, I continued to the desk with Levi. He looked like he belonged here with his expensive features, where as I looked more homeless-like. Why would any of the stylists even look my way? Levi said they would have a field day with me, but I disagreed.

A woman wearing a red sleek, form fitting dress and silver jewelry appeared from behind the desk. She had a few tattoos on her arms. Her hair was a bleached blond and pulled into a bun on the back of her cranium.

"Mr. Levi Ravaille! Good morning, sir. We're almost set up for your shoot." She batted her false lashes at him and acted like a star struck teenager. My heart pounded furiously in my hollow chest. She leaned in such a provocative way that left almost nothing to the imagination on her chest. I tried not to glare at her clear desperation.

"Good." Levi replied and looked back at me. I rose my eyebrow. "Tell them I have a guest with me as well. It's not a problem, yes?" His accented voice remained disinterested. The girl blinked up at me and smiled. I didn't like that smile. She looked like she was staring at prey. Attempting to force a smile didn't work too well, it was more like a grimace. Levi smirked. Suddenly, a tall man appeared from a door on the side. He was cue ball bald and had some ink on his skin. His eyebrow was pierced and he seemed much more appealing to talk to than this girl trying way too hard.

"Mr. Ravaille! Let's get to it, hm?" He said. He lead us away, away from the girl who made me incredibly uneasy. As soon as she was out of view and earshot, I let out a quiet sigh of relief that I hadn't realized I was holding. Again, Levi looked over at me as we walked side by side in a long hallway, lead by the man. I tried not to notice his staring, or at least make him know I noticed.

Eventually he looked away, but the effects of his heavy stare remained on my body. My heart never slowed. My breathing didn't decrease. Was it always going to be like this when I'm with him? I wasn't sure I could handle this all the time. I felt like I just jogged five miles.

Soon, we arrived in a room with people moving feverishly about. There was an area with a white backdrop. Lights, cameras, and people surrounded it. There was some chairs for the offset people and a long table with drinks and food to snack on.

"Coffee or tea?" The man turned to Levi. He thought for a moment.

"Tea." He replied. Levi tilted his head my way.

"What do you want?" This was unexpected. I'm just the lowly apprentice, yet Levi expects them to treat me like him.

"Water?" I said to the man. He smiled and nodded, then left probably to fetch our drinks. Levi waved me with him as he started walking. He went to an area with vanity mirrors and desks lining the wall and chairs in front of them. He sat down in one, so I stood just a few feet away.

I looked in the mirror, my emerald eyes gaping back at me. They were so bug-like, it was almost frightening. Running my fingers back through my dark hair, I looked down.

"Oi brat." Levi's attempt to get my attention worked in an instant. My eyes wandered up into the mirror, but avoided my appearance. Levi was currently the center of my sight. "What was that look for?"

My eyebrows dipped. "What look?"

"You looked in the mirror and you looked like you were about to piss your pants." Sometimes he was more blunt than others. I opened my mouth and stuttered a response. The lights on the mirror reflected on his glasses, casting a purple glow. His eyes were serious and his milky face was stone hard.

"It's just..." I cleared my throat, not used to people asking what was wrong unless it was Mikasa. "My eyes are kind of scary, I guess."

He sat up straighter and let his elbows rest on the arms of the chair, his hands folded in his lap.

"What makes you say that?"

I put my hands in the back pockets of my jeans and looked to the side. The man was currently at the table with a bottle of water and he was making a cup of tea for Levi. "They're really big." I shrugged.

"Well, I like them." He said. If even possible, said eyes widened and I looked down at him. He was busy scrutinizing his nails of any dirt. My cheeks burned rose colored as my tongue swelled familiarly in the back of my throat.

"Thanks, I guess." I replied quietly. He didn't make another move to speak, so I didn't either. The man finally came back with my water and Levi's tea.

"Are you ready for our stylists, Mr. Ravaille?" The man asked as Levi sipped his steaming cup. He held it with the tips of his fingers around the rim. I thought about how strange his way of drinking was, but I didn't question.

"Yes." He set it on the vanity desk. I drank my water slowly.

"Great!" The man called over two stylists. They stopped next to us. "Just make him look fabulous!" I chuckled quietly to myself as I noticed Levi roll his eyes. They asked me to take a seat right off the set. It was far away enough that if I talked, Levi wouldn't be distracted, but close enough I could observe.

I sat patiently with my bottle of water and pulled out my phone. I opened a draft to send Mikasa.

"We're at a photo-shoot and it looks so professional in here." I said simply. I waited and became transfixed in the water.

"Excuse me?" I heard next to me. It sounded like a more gruff female voice. I looked up to a woman with curly brown hair. She was exceptionally tall and lanky. She wore tight jeans and a lot of makeup, but it wasn't horribly overdone. It occurred to me that she was transgender. She showed perfect, white teeth.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Are you a new model today?" She asked with sincere wonder.

I began chortling to myself. Me? A model? "Oh, no, no way. I'm here with Levi Ravaille."

Recognition flashed in her darkly lined, brown eyes. "Right! Sorry…?"

"Eren." I replied with a crooked smile.

"I'm Taylor, a stylist. You just looked like perfect model material, so I just assumed you were one." I choked slightly on the water I had begun to drink while she was talking.

"Wow, I look nothing like a model." I said incredulously. Levi said this would happen, but I hadn't actually believed him.

"Do you even know what a model looks like? Strong, toned body, which is obvious you have. Tall stature, high cheekbones, big, bright eyes. Have you ever considered it as a career?"

I shook my head in absolute astonishment. "I'm apprenticing for Levi, so no not really."

Taylor gasped. "I can't believe it! He never tells me anything anymore…" She pouted slightly. So, Taylor knew Levi personally?

"I only just started today." I pointed out. She nodded, relieved. Suddenly, there was this vindictive look on her face that made me uncomfortable.

"Has anyone ever given you a makeover?" How did I know this was going this way? All I could think about was Levi's warning.

"Uh, no. Why?" My stomach flipped.

"I'm not really busy at the moment…" She made an innocent thinking face. "Maybe if the director is okay with it, I can maybe fix you up like a model? Oh, please! I need a new face to work with and you'd be perfect!" I sighed. I can say no, right? He said I could, but the hopeful look on her face made me… guilt ridden.

"Fine…" I grumbled, grounding my teeth together. Why was I so nice?

"Yay!" She cheered. "I'll find the director so he can meet you!" Before I could rethink the offer, she ran off. I sighed, relenting to the sealed fate of mine. My phone vibrated, indicating someone texted me. It was Mikasa, no doubt.

"That's cool. Send me pictures?" I would have to remind myself to do that later.

"I will, but I have to get a makeover by some stylist… send help."

"Send me pictures of that, too!" I groaned at her persistency. I decided not to answer, because someone else had approached my chair. I looked up to see Levi in the most… odd outfit. But I couldn't help but let my eyes glue to him. He wore an open, leather vest that showed off some muscled abs on his stomach and bright, intricate tattoo's. They went from just a bit above his clavicle and ended somewhere under his tight, dark jeans. And when I say tight, I mean skin tight. His feet were in some kind of leather biker boots with studs. When I finally got to his face, I found he was staring at me, but did not mention aloud how I had blatantly just checked him out. I cleared my throat.

"I think I may have made a bit of a mistake." I told him. One, dark brow cocked.

"What?"

"I agreed for a stylist to give me a makeover." I grimaced as I said it.

"Oh, god. Which one?" He asked with a slight panic in his voice.

"Taylor?"

His eyes widened and he nodded. "She's good, you'll be fine. I wouldn't want them to ruin your pretty face, if it's even possible." Levi sighed. "I may be cruel sometimes, but I would never let you get a bad stylist."

"My hero…" I mumbled and smirked slightly, looking back to my water and taking a sip. I had almost overlooked the part where he called me pretty. Almost.

I felt like such a girl.

He was called back to the vanity tables to do hair and makeup. Eventually the director found me with Taylor in tow.

"Hi, I'm Mike Zacharius, the director. And you're Eren, yeah?" He said, not a stitch of emotion on his stubbled face. I nodded and shook hands with him.

"Yes, I'm Eren. It's nice to meet you." I replied with a smile.

"Taylor tells me you're here as Levi Ravaille's apprentice." He said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"That's right." He nodded curiously

"He has good taste." Mike said, more to himself. For the life of me, I couldn't understand what that meant. Good taste in what? Suddenly, his eyes lit aflame with a hatched idea.

"Quick, get him into fitting and vanity." Mike told Taylor. She squealed happily as she grasped my forearm and tugged me from my chair. As we passed Levi sitting in front a mirror with a lady starting his makeup, I shot him a panicked look in the mirror. He smiled and laughed a little. This told me there was no saving myself.

A half hour later, I exited the dressing room in new clothing. Taylor put me in white jeans and brown, leather Wingtips. The wife beater sweater was half white and half black where it buttoned up halfway. In the back of it, it crossed in a cut opening. I wore a dark red tank top underneath it. I looked down at myself and noticed how long my legs were.

Levi glanced at me as the girl feathered dark grey under his clean cut cheekbones, making them pop even more. She stopped and he turned his head all the way to look at me. I crossed my arms as Taylor left the dressing room.

"Doesn't he look great, Levi?" She asked while waving her hand at me. He swallowed as his eyes scrutinized my whole body. A warming worked it's way up my neck as I switched the weight in my feet. I had to admit he looked pretty well off himself. His face was sleek and slim, the areas shaded with black contrasted quite nicely against the translucent white of his complexion. His eyes were more intense with the black encircling them. Finally, he looked away.

"Yeah, he looks pretty good." Levi replied. The warming reached my cheeks, so I put my hand over them.

Taylor began doing my hair. I wasn't sure how much she could do with it, but I just let it happen.

"Your hair is ridiculous!" She exclaimed. I smirked.

"It hasn't been cut in years." I answered.

Taylor tutted. "That's unforgivable. Would you mind if I have you a trim and maybe some layers? I promise you'll look great." I sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, go crazy." She began trimming. Tufts of brown hair feathered to the floor, gathering around the base of the chair. After, Taylor began styling my hair up and off the side a little. She used some kind of makeup to bring out my skin tone and features. When I looked in the mirror, my big eyes suddenly didn't seem like such a bad thing. I looked different with some volume and consistency in my hair. Older, maybe. Taylor clapped excitedly.

"You look amazing." She laughed. I smiled and she swooned backwards. "My goodness, you make my knees weak!"

My cheeks heated at her compliment. She lead me to the photo shoot area where Levi was posing and flashes of light occurred. He was busy showing off his inked skin to notice.

"Levi, I got your apprentice looking hot!" Taylor called to him. That made me curl inwards a little, feeling slightly embarrassed. Levi looked up and straightened his arms and spine. Smiling, I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Get in there with Levi. I decided we're doing a spread to introduce you to the tattooing community, since you're right below one of the legends." Mike said. "And you look like a professional."

How can these people be saying such nice things about me? I'd never had the confidence to accept the compliments I was given. No matter what, I'll never see how they can be so kind.

Taylor shoved me into the white area. Everyone was staring and hoping I could pull off this look they had given me. I wasn't really sure how to look at the camera, or even what to do with my arms.

"Just smile pretty, Bright Eyes." Levi muttered next to me. The nickname lodged itself in my head and made a home there. Mike began giving me orders on how to pose, so I listened.

"Cross your arms and smirk like you want to jump through the camera and attack someone." I smirked with some kind of attitude and hoped it got what he wanted. "Perfect." He remarked. Levi posed so close I could smell his cologne and hear his breathing. "Kind of lean into Eren, Levi." Levi hesitated, but let some weight fall into my side. I really tried controlling my erratic heartbeat and the feeling of wanting to pull him closer. What was I even thinking? He's so above me it hurts.

They snapped a picture. Another. And another. Mike kept giving commands to pose, so we complied. Whether it was one where Levi was looking away dramatically and my elbow rested on his shoulder while propping my head up on my hand, or me just hardening my features for an intense look.

"You photograph beautifully, Eren." They'd say. Although I didn't feel it in my head, I took the compliments to heart.

Soon, it was over and they had good shots of us. Apparently, they couldn't wait to get these pictures out there. Levi and I returned the clothes and we were eventually back in his car. I sat in the passenger seat while Levi climbed into the drivers.

My leg bounced anxiously.

"So?" Levi asked. "Did you have fun?"

I thought for a moment. Did I? "Yeah. I did..."

"But?"

I shrugged and sighed. "It was terrifying." I looked over to Levi, who blinked in my direction.

"What was so terrifying about it?" He wandered.

"I've never been the center of attention, at least not for good things. No one ever told me I was attractive or good at anything. The thought of me modeling is just..." I looked out the window, my cheeks growing hot at the mention of my insecurities. "Odd."

"Eren, I understand how you were brought up as a teenager. No one cared, it seemed. And I do promise you that I don't lie." He stopped. "You did wonderful in there. And you looked like a model. You still do."

All of the things he said to me had found a way for me to shut down so quickly. My vocal cords won't work and my lungs seem like useless balloons at this point.

"Thank you, Levi." Was all I said before making him understand that I could say no more. He grunted and cleared his throat. That was his only response before spitting gravel out of the parking lot. The ride back to Shingeki Ink was quiet, but not uncomfortable. Levi hummed almost silently to the low music flowing through the speakers. I leaned my head back against the headrest and breathed in and out deeply. The drive was relaxing, considering Levi was an excellent driver. He didn't take too sudden turns or go too fast. Soon, the car pulled to a slow stop. I opened my eyes and wiped them of the tiredness. Looking over, I saw Levi staring. As soon as I turned towards him, he moved his head away and got out of the car.

"Tired?" He asked as we walked inside through the back door. I shrugged. That shoot took more effort than I thought it would.

"Kind of." He chuckled as I yawned.

"Well, you better wake the hell up because you're going to be taking some notes as you watch me tattoo some people." The act of taking notes brings me back to school, which wasn't a very good time for me.

"Okay." I said, scratching the back of my head. We walked into the main lobby where Hanji sat behind the desk. She was writing something down. Petra was on the phone and I think Erwin was in his office. Hanji looked up and saw us. We both still had makeup on, Levi's more noticeable than mine. Mine was mainly used to vaguely accentuate your features. His was to make him pop. Hanji looked at his face and tried hiding giggles in the crook of her arm. Levi responded with smacking her in the back of the head.

"It doesn't look bad." I commented. Hanji took a deep breath to stop her laughing.

"It's not that, he just hates wearing makeup like that." Hanji said, still smiling.

"Face feels like it gained 15 pounds..." Levi admitted, going under the desk and pulling out makeup wipes. He began trying to smudge away the work of the makeup artists. I chuckled and walked closer to Levi, reaching for the wipes. He was about to hand them to me, but then pulled them away. I frowned.

"What?" I asked. He smirked and then tried handing them to me again, just to rip them away. He was fucking with me.

"Levi, what are you doing?" I asked with a sigh and the cross of my arms over my chest.

He shrugged. "I like your makeup." Hanji jumped from her chair and spun me to look at her. She gasped audibly and squealed.

"Eren, you look gorgeous!" She insisted staring into my eyes creepily. "Did the stylists get ahold of you?" She asked, continuing to stare. I looked away and ran my fingers through my hair, messing it all together. It felt weird not being as long.

"Of course they did. Why wouldn't they?" Levi said while wiping away the last of his makeup.

"Ah, Levi and Eren. Good to see you back." Erwin's voice sounded from seemingly no where. I turned around as He stepped out of his office. He nodded at Levi and looked at I. He stopped and simply gaped at my appearance.

"W-wow." He gulped. I swear I could faintly see a shade of rose on his cheeks. My self-consciousness rose, making my break eye contact with him. Did he have to be so open?

"Erwin, you're making him uncomfortable." Levi said, slightly miffed.

"Oh! Uh, sorry. You just look so..." He trailed off, thinking about what to say. "Good." He resigned. I don't think it was really what he wanted to say, but it worked I guess.

Levi walked in front of me and handed the wipes over. I wonder what made him finally give them to me? Whatever, it didn't matter. Once the makeup was gone, I pulled my hair back into a short, little pony tail. I could see what Levi meant. I felt so much better now that my face was clean.

Sitting at my desk, Levi prepped for appointments. I worked on a drawing while he did so. I felt a presence behind me while I continued drawing.

"That's very good, Eren." Erwin's cool voice told me. He planted his hands on the desk and trapped me in between his toned, tatted arms. I jumped slightly at the closeness of his voice and body. His chest rested slightly on my shoulder blades, heartbeats jumping against my back. Slowly, I lifted my head up and tilted it back to look at him. There was this strange, anxious feeling in my stomach. My wide, nervous eyes met his mischievous blue ones. My whole body tensed and the worst part was that he could probably tell.

"Thanks." I breathed. My heart sped like a race car. The smirk on his face made me want to curl under a rock. I couldn't tell if he scared me or if I was just jumpy because it was him. There was the sound of a throat clearing. We simultaneously looked over to Levi standing in the sassiest pose. His arms crossed over his chest, black plastic gloves over his hands and his hip cocked. One of his eyebrows were also raised. My face flushed a deep red. The embarrassment was sickening.

"Erwin." He said, his voice containing a warning tone. A chuckle brushed out of Erwin's nose, his face becoming more amused. He took his arms away, and retreated to his office. Although, he didn't do so without sending me a wink. Oh, Jesus. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea. Chills ran down my spine. Levi sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry about that. He's a huge flirt. It was perfectly clear you felt awkward and confined. I'll be sure to have a talk with him later." He told me with a look of sympathy on his features.

The rest of my day consisted of watching Levi doing tattoos on multitudes of people. Some young, some older. Some tattoos they'd probably regret later, some that people would be happy with for a lifetime. I took notes on how steady his hand was, how careful he was when wiping off excess ink. I became kind of bored just sitting there. When I should have been taking notes, I somehow began sketching Levi's concentration face. I was pretty much done with it by the time he was done.

"Okay, let me see your notes." Levi said as he threw away his last pair of gloves for the day. My stomach dropped. I didn't know he'd want to see them! I had a page, front and back, of notes and then a half page with the picture of him on it. Hand shaking, I handed them to him. He read through the first page, then stopped once he noticed the drawing of him. God, this was so embarrassing.

"You drew me?" He asked. His voice didn't show any emotion. Just the sound of boredom, as usual.

"I... Yeah." My body began to heat up and I clenched my hand so hard my nails stung my palm.

He hummed. "It's very nice." If I wasn't mistaken, he smiled slightly and handed my notes back. Immediately, though his expression dropped back to the boredom and he cleared his throat.

"Not bad. You've had a good day, yes?"

I nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course. I can't believe I'm going to be in a magazine! Next to a famous tattoo artist, none the less." I chatted excitedly.

"You're starting in the industry pretty early. You'll be well known in about 3 weeks or so. I hope you're ready for that kind of commitment." He said, cleaning the tools.

I bit my lip for a little, contemplating. Levi stared at me for a couple seconds, mindlessly to cleaning that needle.

"I'll be okay." I concluded with a shrug. "Worse things have happened." Cold grey eyes rolling, he left the room. With a smirk, I followed.

Levi said that the shop closes every night at nine. He sat on the counter next to Hanji and played with a rubber band. Who knew he could be so easily entertained. Hanji was busy with some paperwork. Things were quiet. And boring. I was doing something on my phone when music suddenly began. It was some punk rock song I didn't know, but it was catchy. Looking up, Petra stood by the stereo with a big smile.

"It's too gloomy in here. Let's get excited! We do have a new crew member, after all." Her green eyes found mine. She started to twirl to the music. Hanji laughed, throwing down her pen and began dancing wildly with Petra. They held hands and just went to town. I couldn't help but notice Levi stare at them with a small smile. Erwin peeked his head out of his office.

"Having fun without me?" He asked with a small laugh. I looked back and just smiled lightly. I'd forgiven him for earlier. It's not like he wanted to hurt me. He didn't really even do anything. Just unnerved me a little.

He came and stood next to my chair, but not too close. It looked like he was trying to keep distance, which was alright with me. I like my space.

Petra skipped up to my desk and waved me over. My face dropped and my cheeks warmed.

"No way." I said shaking my head. Her face turned to a pout as she planted her hands on her hips.

"Come on, Eren!" Hanji yelled over the music.

"I don't know how to dance." I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

"No one here does, you'll be okay." Petra held her hand out for me to take. Well, I could do this and maybe have fun for once in my life, or not embarrass the shit out of myself in front of the two most attractive men I've ever met. Was there any winning this?

Petra rounded the desk and grabbed my hand without consent and dragged me. She was a lot stronger than she looked. She brought me to the main floor and dancing while holding both of my hands. I couldn't help but feel the rooms attention on us. Me, mostly. Eventually, I became less tense and began moving with the beat along with Petra. I hadn't even noticed the everlasting smile on my face. Erwin actually joined in, smiling laughing along with us. He was actually a decent dancer. I glanced over at Levi while I twirled Petra around. His hand covered his mouth and his eyes were squeezed shut. The other hand rested over his stomach as he shook with laughter. He was actually enjoying himself. I let go of Petra's hand and walked over to Levi and held my hand out. He opened his eyes and stared at me with the remnants of a smile.

"If I'm not aloud to sit this out, then neither are you." He just simply looked at me. I knew he was going to say no, but why not try. He breathed deeply, then put his hand in mine.

When our touches met, there was this weird rattling in my chest. My hand tingled. I kept my face unaware of how I felt during this, but Levi's face told me he felt similar. But he didn't let go and that was all that mattered.

We all spun around and danced horridly, but at this point no one cared how bad it was. We were a mesh of awkward movement. Surprisingly, Levi and I danced together most of the time. Neither of us stopped smiling. It didn't feel weird. I felt liberated.

I'd had trouble the past few years of my life trying to stay happy. But right now, I forgot about it all. It's only been a day here and this has been one of the happiest moments of my life. I guess I had Levi to thank for that. If he hadn't changed his mind at the bar last night, I wouldn't be here. At this thought, I flashed him the brightest smile I could muster.

Soon enough, we stopped our moment and closed shop. I began walking home, the moon hung high in the sky and the streets eerily empty.

My footsteps echoed against the buildings I passed, but there was another pair I heard. Actually two. They were kind of heavy. Glancing behind my shoulder, two men in dark hoodies with the hoods over their heads followed. Maybe it was nothing, but that didn't stop my growing anxiety. I was so paranoid. My feet went faster, as did my breathing.

I felt the footsteps speed up behind me until they were right behind me. Suddenly, I got pushed into a dark alleyway. I stumbled and looked between the two guys. One grabbed my arms and shoved me into a brick wall. Pain exploded down my back, making me cry out. Normally it shouldn't have hurt that bad, but with my condition, it felt like someone threw me at 100 miles an hour at the wall. Other guy grabbed my hair and pulled. Tears stung at my eyes.

"Give us your money." He demanded in a gruff, angry voice near my ear. I opened my mouth to tell them I didn't have any on me.

"I don't-" I tried saying, but was met with a hard slap with the back of his hand. Blood spurted into my mouth. My jaw surly misaligned and my cheekbone felt as though it had been broken. My chest constricted and I hissed my breathing through my teeth.

These assholes pissed me off.

I turned my head and spit my bloody saliva in his face. He flinched backwards and then held the most heated facial expression. Getting into fights had never been in my favor because I just got mad and did things that would make it worse. The one holding me against the wall knocked me to the ground. My head slammed against the pavement and my vision blacked out for a few seconds. My spine cried out in pain as it traveled from the base of my neck, down. Suddenly, I felt like I was fourteen again and getting jumped by a bunch of older kids. The one who wasn't holding me down forced his hands around my neck. Panic welled in my chest. The feeling of losing breath and not being able to gain anymore made my arms and legs tingle in numbness. I tried thrashing about, tears streaming from my eyes. This was making me remember things I didn't want to remember. I never thought I'd ever feel this feeling again.

I pulled my legs up and kangaroo kicked him in the chest. His hands left my neck and air flooded my lungs. Coughing, I tried breathing evenly but I knew it would take a while. I got up, still not breathing right, and stumbled. My legs were weak and I was in a lot of pain. The one I didn't kick started for me, so I threw a punch to his face. He stopped and fell to the ground. I ran out of the alley and down the street as far as I could. They didn't follow.

Finally, I found a bench. The adrenalin was wearing off and I realized how fucked I really felt. My chest ached from trying to breath through just being choked and running as fast and far as I could. My head was pounding and my face and back stung. Tears ran down my face and my breathing became erratic. My legs and arms grew numb again as I recognized this feeling as a panic attack. I was sitting in public, alone, on a bench, in a lot of pain and having a panic attack. Man, this sucked.

I put my head in my hands and rocked back and forth, heaving my breaths. My body wouldn't stop shaking for the life of me and I hated it. I felt the blood drain from my face, becoming pale and even weaker. The act of being choked brought back so many memories, bad ones at that.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I didn't want to answer it, but I should. It's probably Mikasa. I answered it without checking who it was.

"H-Hello." I choked out between my ragged breathing and crying.

"Eren?! Where are you? What's wrong? I'm coming to get you. Tell me where you are!" I had been right, it was Mikasa.

"I'm on some park bench. Oh my god, Mikasa. I feel like I'm dying please come get me." I cried, practically gagging from the amount of sobbing I was doing.

"Okay, I will. What street are you on?" I looked up for a street sign and told her through my heavy breathing. No matter how much I tried, it seemed like I couldn't get air. She walked, more like ran, to meet me.   
Apparently, I wasn't that far from the apartment. She helped me back, not even asking what happened. As soon as I got home, I fell asleep for the whole night, my past memories plaguing me as I dreamed.


	4. Old Enemy, Old Pain

Shingeki ink

Chapter 4: Old Enemy, Old Pain.

Levi

Erwin sat at Eren's desk with his feet propped up on it, leaning back in the chair with his hands folded on his head. He was whistling some tune I didn't recognize. I looked through my schedule for the day. I heard a snap and felt a stinging on the back of my neck. My head dropped backwards, cracking the joints in my neck. I shot a glare over at Erwin who was looking away and acting like nothing happened.

"Erwin." I said, feigning calmness.

"Hmm?" He hummed, looking over with the face of an angel.

"Did you just so kindly shoot a rubber band at my neck?"

He made a mock face of hurt. I gave him a doubtful look.

"Why would I ever do that to you, Levi Ravaille, world renown tattoo artist and my boss?" Now I was tired of this act. I began making my way over to the desk to give him an idea of what would happen if he continued to mock me. As I was doing so, the bell on the door rang. Erwin turned his head while I stopped and did the same. Eren stood by the door with his hood up and head down. Something was wrong.

"Eren?" I asked, trying to get my apprentices attention. He drew a deep breath and pulled his head up, knocking his hood back. My mouth fell agape as my eyes widened. His pallor was pale, which is something I didn't think could happen due to his darker complexion. Along with that was a bruise about the size of his whole cheekbone, running along under his eye.. It was black and blue, bright against his skin. But that wasn't it. His eyes were rimmed red and bloodshot like he'd been crying. Upon closer inspection, bruises littered his throat. They were the shape of hands, as though someone tried choking him long enough to make his eyes vacant of life."Oh my god." I breathed almost silently.

Erwin took his legs off of the desk and sat straight up. He looked to be about as shocked as I.

"Hey." Eren rasped, a smile on his face so fake that I was almost angry about it.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked, blunt as ever. I couldn't help it. It seemed I was born without a filter from my brain to my mouth. Eren pushed his hair back, scratching his neck after. It seemed he'd almost gotten used to my loud mouth in the matter of three days.

"I kind of got… attacked last night." He mumbled. "It's not a big deal." My eyes might as well have bugged out of my head. Not a big deal?!

"Who?" Erwin asked, a hard edge to his voice. I've known Erwin for a long time, and I knew he hardly got angry. When he did though, get ready for Hell's wrath.

Eren shook his head, but flinched, probably from the tightness and ache in his neck. "I don't know. There were two of them and I didn't know either of them. They pushed me into an alley and demanded my money, but got mad when I didn't have any. One of them tried choking me, more than likely trying to silence me so I wouldn't go to the police." The brunette walked into the room and set his bag on the desk, standing directly between Erwin and I.

"You should go to the police." I muttered, looking at the ground. I didn't know how I felt about this. Of course, I was annoyed that this happened, maybe a bit too annoyed. Why was I so upset? I mean, he's my apprentice. Not my friend. Or boyfriend. Maybe it was the dejected look on his face. Maybe it was the choppy, chewed nails at the end of his fingers. Or the glazed, heavy look in his eyes.

"What else did they do?" I heard Erwin ask, knocking me out of my state of inertia.

The boy in front of me shrugged his large shoulders. "Backhanded me, pushed me pretty hard into a wall. Oh, they shoved me to the ground and I almost blacked out from hitting my head on cement." For some reason, my hand began moving on its own to touch one of the bruises on his neck. His eyes flicked to me, probably wondering what the fuck I was doing. Even I didn't know. Suddenly, I pulled my hand away.

"I don't think they'll be there that long." I coughed, an awkward feeling sinking in my stomach. Why did I do that?

"I'm hoping…" Eren sighed and acted like nothing was weird about what I just did. Erwin wouldn't stop looking at me with a look that said absolutely nothing. Except, I knew that expression, and it may seemed like it said nothing, but to me it had "territorial" written all over it. Did he think I was flirting with Eren? I wanted to laugh. Fat fucking chance, Eyebrows.

"Okay, how about we get off of this disturbing topic. I'm sure you didn't come here today to be gawked at by everyone and act like they're walking on eggshells with you." I told him. He smiled a real smile at me, and my breath hitched.

I wasn't flirting. Right.

Eren

I was sitting at my desk, finishing off a drawing when Petra came bounding through the front doors. She seemed more excited than usual. Her eyes landed on me, lighting up. What had her so wired?

"Eren! Why didn't you tell me you were a freaking model?!" She practically screamed, rushing over to me. My eyebrows dipped. What did she mean?

"What?" I asked. Petra whipped out a magazine, shoving it in my face. I had to back up my head to see exactly what she was trying to show me.

It was this months Ink Spread. On the cover of it, was a picture of Levi. And me.

"Woah, wait!" I gasped, ripping the magazine from her grasp and staring at the picture with my mouth open. My eyes were not decieving me. I stood turned to the side, my arm that faced the camera crossed over my stomach. My back arched a tad, staring at the lense with a soft look and an elongated neck. Levi had his legs spread apart with his hands tugging his vest apart to show his tattoos. His expression just screamed wild with his head tilted back enough that his jawline looked as sharp as glass. I also noticed there was zero space between us, making us seem like we were close. Surprisingly, I looked damn good. My eyes were bright emerald,and for once, I thanked the gods for giving me large eyes. My cheekbones were more prominent than I realized and the same went for my jaw. The tan of my skin basically glowed off the page. "Holy shit." I said aloud. "I'm on the front page of a magazine!" The realization hit me and I grew winded. "They said I'd be in it, but not on the front page!"

"Why didn't you guys tell us?!" Petra asked, jumping up and down. I shrugged, because I really didn't know. Looking back at the page, it had our names on the side. It said Levi Ravaille and his new apprentice, Eren Jaeger. Apparently, there were other pictures on a different page. I scrolled through and found it.

There was three more. One with Levi crossing his arms, my arm bent on his shoulder. It looked like I was using him for a post to lean on. The smile I bored seemed cocky and smolder-like. I didn't even know I could smolder. The one in the middle didn't even look like it was meant to be taken. I was standing with my hands together like I'd been clapping and my expression told me I was laughing. My teeth were perfect white and straight. Also, I was staring at Levi who was actually smiling at me and looked like he was actually happy. The third was me sitting diagonally in a black armchair with my leg tossed over the opposite armrest. Levi leaned on the side, glancing at me over his shoulder with a microscopic smirk. I looked at the camera with a strong look that made it seem like I had the desire to kill. Petra stared over my shoulder.

"Wow." She gasped. "You guys go so well together…"

My face warmed at her comment. Did we?

"I have to show Levi this." I said, closing the magazine and heading for the stairwell door. Jumping up the stairs two at a time, I presented myself at Levi's office on the top floor. I knocked, a voice from behind the door telling me to enter. I did slowly, hoping I wasn't bothering him too much.

"Are you busy?" I peeked my head in looking at Levi with his glasses on, staring at the screen of his computer. Glancing over as soon as he heard my voice, he turned from the monitor.

"Yes. Too busy for you? No. What's up?" He folded his arms on his deep mahogany colored desk. I opened the door all the way and closed it behind me. I walked up to his desk and popped the magazine up in front of my face. "Front page? No fucking way."

Levi snatched it from my hand and gazed at it with fascination.

"Petra came running into the shop with it. She was freaking out, mostly because neither of us told her that we were going to both be in the magazine together." Levi didn't say anything as he went to the page with the other pictures. He stood from his desk and leaned on the side of it, beginning to read aloud.

"If you read our magazine monthly, or any other tattoo magazines, how could you not know Levi Ravaille? His works are masterpieces and he's in high demand. But, now, it seems someone may be getting the skill passed down. His new apprentice, Eren Jaeger, is up for the apprenticeship of a lifetime. He's not only an adorable young man, he's well mannered, strong and good at following directions to the last detail. Good on you, Eren. We expect to see you and your work in our and other magazines sometime soon. " I guess there was an article under the pictures, but I hadn't read it. I'd been too distracted by the pictures.

"This is… amazing." I muttered, a smile creeping on my face. Levi looked up, a small smile adorning his features.

"These pictures are pretty good. I might get a print of one of them…" He said, rubbing his chin.

"Really? Which one?" I asked, coming up behind his shoulder and looking at the magazine. "I like this one because it looks natural. And because you're smiling." I pointed to the one in the middle.

"Come to think of it, I don't think this one was meant to be taken." He replied. I nodded enthusiastically.

"I don't think so either, but that makes it better." I chuckled and backed up a little. He handed me the magazine back, knowing I'd probably rather have it.

"I'll call Mike. He'd be more than happy to know I liked it enough to get a print of it." I noticed that there were some other prints of Levi's magazine shots framed and hung in the front lobby. Is that what he planned to do with it?

"Awesome." I grinned. "Do you have any appointments today?" He looked at his black Rolex.

"Yeah, in about an hour. You gonna sit in?" He asked.

"Of course. I like watching you tattoo." He shook his head, but I knew he was amused. He asked me to go get a room ready. It was something he was making sure I knew how to do. I rolled up the magazine and stuck it in my back pocket on my way down the stairs. When I walked into the lobby, Hanji was at the desk. I wasn't sure where she was before, but now that she was there, she was speaking with someone. When I went through the stairwell doors, I looked at the man she was talking to. It was a guy around my age. He was tall, built pretty heavily, and had short blonde hair cropped close to his scalp. I thought he looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"Yes, he's here. Who's asking?" She sounded kind of defensive, and she has been since I got mugged a few weeks ago. After every time the shop closed, someone had given me a ride home. Actually, Levi had more than anyone else. Hanji and Petra had, but anytime Erwin offered, Levi took it upon himself to do it. I would always tell them I could walk, but they would all jump at my throat, saying they didn't want to sacrifice my safety again.

"My name is Reiner Braun. I went to school with him." Suddenly, his name made me stumble against the door. Reiner. Man, I remembered Reiner. How could I not? Seeing him here made me tremble in place. My throat tasted like bile and battery acid. Maybe I could sneak back into the stairwell without him seeing me, but my hand wouldn't move. Suddenly, he looked up and my stomach flipped. He made eye contact with me and then started for me. My legs started moving on their own. I pretty much ran to the opposite side of the circular desk. My breathing picking up. Finally, I found my voice.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice shaking. Hanji stood, almost knocking her chair over. She rushed to my side and placed her hand on my back.

He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "Honestly?"

I nodded.

"I came to apologize." Was I hearing right? He came to apologize? I laughed lightly, finding it ironic.

"Why?" I became serious again. "What even makes you think I'd ever accept an apology from you?" He shook his head.

"I don't. And I don't deserve one." He grew silent. "I've been wanting to say sorry for all of the shit I cause you when we were kids."

"How did you find me?" I braced myself against the desk, Hanji rubbing my back. He held up something in his hand. A copy of Ink Spread.

"You look really good in here, by the way." I wanted to puke. Besides that, I was close to another panic attack. I bent my sweat slicked forehead down onto the desk.

"Eren, are you alright?" Hanji's soft voice asked. I took deep breaths and counted to ten in between them. I heard footsteps coming towards me, so I snapped right side up and backed away from Reiner who'd gotten closer, Hanji still standing between us.

"Get away from me." I growled. I heard the stairwell door open, Levi walking in. My breathing had increased rapidly, my panic not staying at bay.

"Eren-" Reiner said.

"Get out of here!" My mind was spinning and I was pretty sure I was about to fall down, the floor bending under my feet. When I fell, I curled onto my side. My breathing not reaching my lungs, I clutched the part of my shirt over my racing heart. I wasn't exactly sure what happened next, but I was pretty sure Levi knelt on the floor next to me while Hanji forced Reiner out the door. Tears escaped my eyes while my extremities went numb. "I-I can't breathe." I choked out.

Levi ran his fingers through my hair and stayed put. He didn't speak, just tried to calm me down. There wasn't much you could do to stop a panic attack. The only thing you can do is wait for it to be over once it starts. Eventually, the attack quelled. I sat up slowly, the blood running from my face. I knew I must've looked like death. I sat leaning against the desk, my head spinning like a merry-go-round while my body demanded sleep.

"I'm sorry." I rasped, my voice sounding like sandpaper coated the inside of my throat.

"Are you kidding me?" Levi asked. I was pretty sure Hanji had left us alone for the time being, so it was just us. I looked at him with my eyebrows drawn together. "None of what just happened was your fault."

I shrugged, still feeling bad.

"He came here because of me, and I reacted badly to it." It sounded exactly like my fault.

"You had no control over it." He pointed out, pulling his legs into a criss-cross form in front of me. I leaned my head back against the desk, letting my eyes slipped closed, exhaustion reaching for me.

"I need to wake up." I started to get up, when my legs gave out. Levi stood as fast as he could and stopped me from face planting.

"You need to sleep, that's what you need." I let my weight rest on him because I had hardly any energy. "Do you want to rest in my apartment?"

I tried standing on my own again, my legs only shaking this time. "No, I couldn't do that. I've already inconvenienced you enough today."

"Shut the fuck up and rest in my apartment." Levi demanded. I chuckled, noting there was never a time when he wasn't blunt.

"Will it make you happy if I do?" I muttered, pertaining to his tone.

"Sure." He shrugged, throwing his arms up. I groaned.

"Fine." I started for the stairs and stumbled.

"...I can't believe I'm doing this." I heard Levi mumble to himself. He walked over to Erwin's office and opened his door. He was in there that whole time and hadn't come out? I didn't hear what they were talking about, but Erwin came out with a serious look on his face. He stopped in front of me and stared at me. I looked away, ashamed of how I looked. I knew I looked like a walking corpse at the moment. Suddenly, I was being lifted off of my feet. I freaked out for a minute when I realized Erwin was carrying me bridal style.

"What are you doing?!" I asked, a mix of embarrassed and astonished.

"Taking you to Levi's apartment." He went for the doors when I caught Levi's gaze over Erwins shoulder. He had a slight look of bitterness on his features, but when he saw me looking, it softened. Levi smiled lightly, like he was trying to reassure me everything was okay.

Erwin laid me down in Levi's bed, the surreal softness of it hitting my back making me yawn. I was already half asleep when Erwin was putting the blanket over my curled up form. I swore he kissed the crown of my head before he left, but I was probably imagining things.


	5. The Jealousy Feud Has Begun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!!WARNING: SUICIDE/BULLYING/ANXIETY/DEPRESSION MENTIONS!!!!!

!!!!!WARNING: SUICIDE/BULLYING/ANXIETY/DEPRESSION MENTIONS!!!!!  
Shingeki ink  
Chapter 5: The Jealousy Feud Has Begun  
Eren  
My eyes slowly opened, an orange glow casting through the window. I slowly sat up, my head aching. Where was I again? Glancing around, the room was very nice. And clean. The bed had simple white linens. The floor was a light blue and the walls were also white. The windows had black curtains, pushed aside. Then I remembered. Reiner. Erwin carrying me. I was in Levi's bedroom.  
For whatever reason, I felt flustered being in such a personal space of Levi's. I mean, he wouldn't let me say no, but still. I sighed and stood from the bed. My legs felt a lot sturdier and I felt pretty much normal again. Judging by the position of the sun in the sky, it was after six PM. How long had I been out?  
I opened a door in his room, hoping it to be a bathroom. It was. I went in and washed my face with cold water. After, I pulled my messy, brown locks into a ponytail on the back of my head. My cheeks were still somewhat gaunt and my eyes were bloodshot. I scratched my arm and decided it was the best I was going to get for now. I left his room, noting Levi wasn't anywhere in sight. He must be having appointments.  
I left his apartment. When I went downstairs, I saw everyone sitting in the lobby. They looked pensive. Erwin was leaning against the desk, staring at his shoes. Hanji was behind the desk as usual, but she seemed distracted. Petra was staring into a copy of Ink Spread. Levi sat at my desk and stared out the window while tapping his fingers anxiously on the desk. I opened the door to the lobby and tried making light of the situation.  
"Who died?" I asked the room with a slight smirk. Everyone looked up at me at the same time. Hanji and Petra ran towards me, at full speed, making me wonder if I should take shelter behind the stairwell door.The both launched themselves at me. Petra grabbed my hand with both of hers and Hanji threw her arms around my shoulders. I was caught off guard by the affection.  
“Are you okay, love?!” Hanji cried. I stood rigid, staring behind her.  
“Um...Yeah.” I patted her back with my hand that wasn’t preoccupied.  
“When they told me what happened, I couldn’t stop worrying!” Petra said, pretty much on the verge of tears. I was shocked. They were all this concerned?  
Levi stood and made his way to me. Erwin looked like he was about to, but stopped a couple feet behind. They unhinged themselves from me and stood next to me instead.  
"How are you feeling?" He asked, looking slightly disturbed. I shrugged.  
"Fine. A little hazy, but nothing too bad." I smiled at him. “Thank you for helping me.” My cheeks and ears generated heat at remembering how he comforted me. Levi sighed and shook his head.  
“Should we be worried about that guy that was here?”  
I thought for a moment. I’d known him when I was a teenager, jumping from foster home to foster home. He was a kid I met in school. Well, “met” probably wasn’t the right term. More like feared.  
Finally, I shrugged. I wasn’t sure if maybe it was because Reiner scared the shit out of me, but I didn’t want him around me. “I don’t think he’ll do anything, but I definitely don’t want to see him again, if possible.”  
He nodded. “What happened between you two to make you react so horribly around him?”  
I looked away, my complexion blanching.  
“Just some shit when we were kids…” I waved away. Levi gave me a doubtful look and I rolled my eyes on accident. I almost never gave him or anyone else attitude. I guess it was just the fact that I owed it to all of them to explain, It was my fault he came here, therefore my fault all of this shit happened. I walked farther into the room and sat at my desk and leaned back. My eyes wandered to the window as I took in the setting sun behind skyscrapers and office buildings.  
I don’t plan on telling everything.  
“When I was ten, my mom died. She fought breast cancer for a while. Once it finally won, taking her life, my father lost himself. He stopped caring about everything. It got to the point where I got home from school one day, and he wasn’t home. He was always leaving, sometimes for days at a time. But after that… he didn’t come home at all. I was placed in foster care with my sister after about two weeks of living alone before the neighbors noticed and called social services. After that, I became a bitter child. I had this mindset that if my parents left me, everyone would eventually. I even thought my sister would. That was why I was so against being in homes. I figured some home would see us, and only want Mikasa. We’d be separated. But anyone who wanted one of us, they’d have us both or neither at all. That, and I was afraid of becoming attached to any of the foster parents because I just knew I would lose them too. I was distant, detached. I ignored the kids at school and never made friends. They didn’t like me because of that. I guess it made me seem egotistical, that I thought I was above them or something. They picked on me. Reiner, being one of them of course. As their bullying picked up, I became more of a problem at homes. The parents weren’t able to handle me. Mikasa was quiet and focused on academics. Well, that and trying to keep me from getting my face getting smashed in. The parents were always sold on keeping her, but she never wanted to stay unless I was there. So, we bounced around. We never called a place home.” I stopped and started running my hands through my hair, leaning my elbows on the desk in front of me. “Reiner was kind of the ring leader of them all. They’d follow me around the halls at school, during lunch, after school, home, anywhere. There was never a time I didn’t have some scrape, bruise, cut. They made my life hell, worse than it already was. I guess I still have grudges against him.” I said, my voice quiet and not even sounding like my own. I closed my eyes, images of Reiner and one of his friends dragging me by my wrists to the parking lot of the school and tying me to a truck, flashing behind my lids. He punched me in the face, kicked me in the stomach. Bashed my head against the side of the truck and I was powerless to stop any of it.  
I felt a sudden hand on my shoulder, making me jump out of the memory. Looking back, Levi stood with a stone cold look. His face was set like a diamond, his eyes reflecting back sadness.  
When I looked to the others, Petra and Hanji were clinging to each other with tears shining in their eyes. Erwin looked upset, not meeting anyone’s eyes.  
“Hey, but look. I’m not like that anymore. Mikasa and I live in an apartment in New York together. All of that shit was years ago. It doesn’t even matter.” I lied, laughing nervously. This was a bad idea. I’ve made the air awkward and sad.  
“Eren, I will use every ounce of strength I own to make sure you don’t have to see Reiner again.” Levi whispered. My eyes widened, hearing the solemn promise. Did he really just say that? And did it really make my heart skip? Why did I believe him? It sounded like something that couldn’t easily be done. I smiled to myself. Sure, he could be cold. He could be rude, blunt and loud-mouthed. But, he also shows he cares like no one else.  
~  
Levi  
I stood in front of the coffee shop, Starbucks, and tried keeping my anger at bay. How dare he treat Eren like that! I knew Eren tried making it seem like he doesn’t care that much about the past, but I do. I made a promise and I intend to keep it.  
“That asshole better show…” I muttered to myself as I entered the coffee shop. I ordered a strong iced coffee and took a seat. I really wished I could have met this guy somewhere I could cuss him out, but I guess I’d have to settle for this place. He walked in, looking around like a dumbass. “Over here, dick.” I called. I got a few looks, some of disgust. He looked over and sat down. He didn’t buy anything, so I assumed he wasn’t staying long.  
“I was surprised when you got a hold of me. You said you wanted to talk?” Reiner asked, not looking too comfortable. Good, he shouldn’t be.  
“Yeah.” I took a long sip of my drink. His face was just pissing me off. “Stay away from Eren.”  
One stupid, blonde eyebrow cocked. “What? That’s it?”  
My facial expression never changed. “It could be if you agreed.” I said, putting my drink down with a little more force than intended. Reiner sat, rubbing his stubbled chin.  
“I don’t know…” He sighed. “I kind of wanted to get to know him. Make up for all the wrong I caused.”  
My eye twitched. “The way you can make up for it, is by never contacting him again.” My voice was becoming strained.  
“Are you sure that’s what he wants?” He asked, slitting his eyes subtly. If I was standing, I’d be taking a step back from shock.  
“Don’t you think I’d know what he wants over some douchebag who terrorized him in high school?” The muscle in my jaw jumped. Was this guy really that stupid?  
He shrugged his large shoulders. The guy’s hands rested on the tabletop. I couldn’t stop staring at them. Those were the hands that had hurt Eren before. As much as I didn’t want to think about it, or even make that kind of assumption, they’d also have probably touched his blood.  
“Maybe. But, I hate to break it to you, I probably know more about him than you.” If possible, my expression turned colder.  
“And that matters…?” I asked, because as much as I wanted to believe that what Eren told us at the shop was everything, I knew it wasn’t. I could tell there was something major he had to have been holding back.  
“You don’t understand him. I do. I understood him too well. I had my frustration mixed up when we were kids. I was angry because I knew he’d never give me the time of day. I thought it was because he thought he was better than everyone. When he went away and never came back… I was worried. Then I saw him on the magazine and I cried. I was finally able to know he was alright and that his attempt didn’t hold him back and allowed him to become successful..” At his words, my heart stopped. Attempt?  
“What are you talking about?” All the anger had left my voice, leaving nothing but breathless surprise.  
His face grew white. “Shit.”  
“What the fuck are you talking about you monkey? Spill.” I demanded. My hands began to shake. Reiner sighed.  
“Dammit.” Rubbing his hands over his face, he looked up. “When we were in high school, he disappeared. None of the students or even teachers knew what happened to him. The only one who knew what really happened to him was his sister. So, I approached her. I asked her, but she didn’t tell me anything. At the time, I didn’t understand why I cared. He was just some kid I got enjoyment out of beating. Soon, I realized I treated him like that because I didn’t know how to deal with having feelings for him. I knew he’d never like me, so I lashed out. Anyways, I went to his house. I lied to his foster parents and said I was a friend of his from school. They told me what happened. Eren tried taking his own life.” My heart sped and the blood rushed from my face. I felt like someone punched me in the gut. Guilt flooded my entire being. Eren obviously hadn’t wanted this to be resurfaced. Now that I knew, I felt I had betrayed him somehow. It was personal matters I shouldn’t have gotten involved in. Reiner must have noticed my shock by my silence. “Now you see why I can’t leave him be. My conscience will never be cleared until he accepts my apology.”  
“Well, you’re a selfish asshole, aren’t you?” I heard my voice growl. “You saw him a couple days ago. You’re mere presence makes him lose control and scares him to shit. And you’re willing to hurt him further just to clear your own fucking conscience?” I shook my head and stood. I was done here. “Stay away from him, not only for his health, but yours as well.”  
I walked out of the shop, making my way down the busy and crowded New York City sidewalks. I wasn’t sure why that guy made me so angry. Was it just because of how he treated Eren? It had to be. Why was I feeling so strongly about this?  
I’m just glad I was able to reach this Reiner guy and to make him understand that his involvement was causing Eren more grief than closure. At least, I hoped he understood or our meeting was completely pointless.  
When I made it back to the shop, I stopped outside the large picture window. Eren sat at his desk, using his thumb to play with his bottom lip. He looked distracted. There was a far away look in his glazed eyes. I wanted to make sure he was alright. As I was about to walk into the shop, Erwin appeared out of no where, standing next to Eren. It seemed Erwin had beat me to it. I read his lips as “are you okay?” and then vigorous nodding from the brunette. I saw Erwin frown and place an arm around his shoulders, pulling him in for a side hug. My stomach acid boiled. I recalled saying I didn’t care if Erwin wanted to flirt with my apprentice, but now I wasn’t so sure. Why did it make me so uncomfortable? It wasn’t because I liked him, right?  
I mean, I do. What isn’t there to like about him? But there’s no way I feel for anything for him other than a friend I care about. Erwin isn’t the kind of guy to settle down for just one person. I’m only looking out for Eren, so he doesn’t get hurt. That’s all.  
I walked in, making sure to pull the door hard enough to make the bell ring as loud as possible. When they looked my way, I couldn’t help but feel the slight aggressive glare Erwin shot my way. Eren, the complete opposite, smiled brightly. His smile was seriously out of this world. The feeling I got from staring at Erwin being too close to him left me immediately.  
“Hi, Levi. Did you have a nice lunch break?” Eren asked, still smiling. At this moment, the thought of him trying to end his own life entered my head. How? Eren was always so cheerful. He seemed liked nothing had ever hurt him, but I knew immediately that meant nothing. People have hurt him his entire life. How had he tried it? It could have been anything, and I knew better than to ask. I also could have considered that Reiner was lying. Although, I pride myself in being able to decipher people’s lies, no matter who they were. Reiner seemed to be telling the truth. What would he get out of lying? Nothing. Just a very pissed off, 5 foot 2, tattooer ready to kill him. I wouldn’t hesitate to hunt him down to make my fist meet his throat, even if I have to jump to reach him.  
“Levi?” Eren’s voice reminded me I never answered him. I blinked and focused on his confusion.  
“Yeah. I did, sorry. By the way, I talked to that guy. Reiner.” I said, looking away and scratching my neck. He stuttered.  
“What? Really?” He squeaked. I smirked at his reaction.  
“Yup. Hopefully, he’s gonna leave you alone.” I said, starting for the stairwell door. On my body’s own accord, as I walked past Erwin, my shoulder rammed into his arm. As soon as it happened, my eyes widened. I didn’t mean to do that… Why did I do that? I couldn’t even fathom how childish that had been of me. I stopped walking, my entire body rigid. I felt both Eren’s and Erwin’s eyes on me. Hanging my head and clenching my fists at my side, I went upstairs faster than usual. Instead of going to my office like I planned, I went to my apartment.  
When I walked in, I began pacing my living room. Why was I acting so irrational? What happened to my organized and reserved mind? It seemed like everything was out of place and so desperate to get back to normal that it just furthered it’s confusion. I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging at the roots. Pulling off my glasses, I rubbed my tired and dry eyes. I was the definition of nervous right now, which was the complete opposite of my usual mentality. I was always so sure of everything. I knew my job had taken off, I knew I had absolutely no problem with money, my friends were something I could always count on. Maybe accepting a new apprentice after the last one wasn’t such a good idea.  
I always seemed to mistakenly fall for them.


	6. Short Fuse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!!!: ANXIETY/DEPRESSION/SUICIDE MENTION!!!!

WARNING!!!: ANXIETY/DEPRESSION/SUICIDE MENTIONS!!!!  
Shingeki Ink  
Chapter 6: Short Fuse  
Eren  
“Your hand’s shaking too much.” Levi pointed out as he loomed over my shoulder while I held a trembling tattooing needle over a piece of pig thigh. My hand was doing this because of the pressure my “teacher” was putting on me. There was absolutely no personal space for me, making my back sweat. We’ve been at this for almost an hour and I only have a partially done tattoo with shaky line work. I turned off the gun and laid the needle down.  
“I need a break.” I groaned, my gloved hands still a bit unsteady. Levi sighed, his gaze burning the back of my head.  
“When you’re a tattoo artist, we don’t take breaks after an hour. Depending on the intricateness of the tattoo, you could be tattooing for up to three hours.” I knew this, yet for some reason I needed to calm down. I hadn’t been like this when I tattooed Mikasa. What was setting me so off balance? I had a feeling… it was standing right behind me with black hair and an undercut.  
“I know, I know.” I took my gloves off, stood and turned around. My face must have showed exhaustion, because when Levi caught sight of it, his expression softened a little from it’s normal steely look. He rolled his grey eyes before running his fingers through the fine strands on his head.  
"Whatever..." He grumbled, looking away from me. I headed to the break room and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. I sat down on a couch and held the bottle to my warm forehead. What was wrong with me? How could I bother Levi for an apprenticeship when I couldn't even tattoo around him?   
I sank into the couch while contemplating. The door opened and closed.  
"Hey, Eren." I heard. Removing the cold water from my head and looking up, Erwin stood in front of me with a small smile.  
"Hi." I said simply, returning the smile, then opening the bottle and taking a sip from it. Without invitation, he took a seat next to me.  
"Are you alright? You seem tired." The concern in his voice made me sigh.  
When I looked at him, he was a lot closer than I expected. As I was about to speak, my words came out jumbled.  
"I'm good." I tried again, then tried to inconspicuously put space between us. Even then he was still a little close for my liking.   
"Is Levi working you too hard?" His blonde, bushy eyebrows furrowed.  
I shook my head, even if that was what I wanted to say. I just didn't have the energy or balls to say Levi made me nervous. His presence just weighed so heavy on me.  
"Do you... Need to release some stress?" He asked, a weirdness to his voice I just couldn't point out. I didn't know if there was anything suggestive to what he was saying, and didn't want to make an ass out of myself for jumping to conclusions.  
When I turned my head to look at him, I was immediately met with his ominous, blue irises. I gulped at how close our noses were to brushing. There was a lopsided smirk on his face, indicating he thought this whole situation was amusing. His breath feathered over my face, increasing the urge to back up.  
"Wh-what?" I asked idiotically.  
"Have I ever told you how gorgeous your eyes are?" He said picking up one of his hands and placing it on the side of my cheek. I felt a shiver crawl up my spine and goosebumps break out on my neck. "Actually, everything about you is gorgeous."   
My cheeks grew hot while Erwin grew closer. As my entire body froze, unable to even comprehend what was going on, the door to the break room opened just in time.  
"Erwin." A deadly voice called from the doorway. The smirk never left his face as his hand dropped from my skin. "Get back to work." It seemed as though Levi was attempting to control his temper, even though it seeped right through his words. Only when Erwin left the room, was I able to breathe as though I'd been holding it in. I bent my head down and let my hands roam over it. At first, it'd been embarrassing. Now? It's been happening quite often. It was as though Levi had bugged Erwin. Anytime he was a bit too close, Levi would show up and save the day.   
"You can tell him no, you know? He should have about as much common sense as a fucking dog." Levi said. I'd lifted my head to see the man making hot tea. "Do you want some?"  
"Sure." My voice was quiet and vulnerable. "And I know I can say no, it's just when this happens, I'm in too much shock." I talked a bit louder this time after clearing my throat.  
"Erwin may be smart in some aspects, but when he finds someone to hound over, it becomes obsessive. You just happen to be his obsession. He won't get any hints until you've made it abundantly clear you don't see him that way." Levi walked over after a few minutes of silence with a mug of steaming tea, which he placed in my grasp. He folded his legs underneath himself as he settled into the couch next to me with his own cup.  
"Thanks." I muttered. He hummed.  
"So..." He said before sipping his tea. "Are you going to smother out this whole attachment of his?" I wanted to. I knew immediately I wanted to. Sure, Erwin was undeniably attractive, but there just wasn't anything there for me. He just seemed like someone I'd rather be friends with.   
It was hard to explain. But, I think I felt too comfortable with Erwin. If there was someone I truly liked, I'd be a mess around them, worrying about every little thing I did or said. Upon this thought, I glanced at Levi's relaxed form next to me. I felt comfortable around him sometimes, yeah, but back in the tattooing office... I couldn't stop thinking about his scrutinizing gaze. When he touched my skin, I grew restless. At first, meeting Levi has just been me being a star struck kid meeting his idol. After I'd gotten to know him away from the magazines, I realized there was so much more to admire about Levi other than his good looks and tattooing talent. He could be immensely caring at times, even if he didn't show it in normal ways. Levi has helped me more than anyone other than my sister since before I even knew him.  
One, greyish eye popped open to look at me. As if he could read my mind, I blushed and immediately looked down at my cup of tea.  
"Brat?" He said, masking me recall that he had asked me something.  
"Oh, uh yeah I'm gonna tell him." I just hoped he'd accept my answer without any griping. Looking back at Levi, there was the remnants of a smile on his face.   
“Good. I’m tired of yelling at him to stop humping the couch.” My eyes went wide and I spluttered a cough.  
“I wouldn’t happen to be the couch in that analogy, would I?” He just looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. I nodded at his expression. “Right." I sighed. Sometimes he was so blunt it was hard to deal with, but as time went on, it got easier to block out. Levi sipped from his mug of tea. "I suppose I should set him straight soon..." I muttered into my cup, the aroma of black tea filling my senses.  
"Was that a pun?" Levi asked with a small chuckle. I didn't understand what he meant at first, but then I realized.  
"Oh, God." Laughter bubbled in my chest and allowed it out. I started to giggle at my unintentional pun. When I finally stopped, Levi was staring at me with that stupid half smile of his. It was good that he didn't realize how he made me feel, because he'd definitely think it was weird. He'd understand that the quietness between us made me antsy. So, I stood and brought my cup with me. "Alright, I'm going to talk to him."  
"Do you want me to go with you?" Levi asked, planting his feet on the floor of the break room. I smirked and shook my head.  
"Nah, I'm okay. I'll let you know how it goes, though." He sighed and leaned back into the couch. I walked out and found Erwin in his office. Rapping my knuckles on his open door, I began to speak."Can we talk?"  
He set down a pen that he'd been writing with and smiled.  
"Of course." He gestured for me to close the door, so I did. When I sat in the chair in front of his desk, he stood and began to lean against it in front of me. "What's going on?"  
"Um, I know I'm not very good at determining these things, but I think lately you've been... Making advances towards me." I waited for him to laugh and claim he'd only been teasing me.  
"Yes." He said without a hint of anything but seriousness. I ran my fingers through my hair and stared at me feet.  
"O-okay well I've come to tell you that-" he cut me off by gripping my chin and pulling it upwards. I was surprised by the action. The eye contact he forced upon me made me feel very anxious. Couldn't he let me finish my sentence?  
"That you have feelings for Levi?" My face turned into a space heater at his suggestion. I opened my mouth and immediately began to wipe that thought from the air.  
"No! No, no no no. You've got it wrong!" I tried explaining to him, but even to me it sounded forced and fake. His face gravitated closer to mine.  
"Then why are you so flustered?" Damn, he was embarrassing the shit out of me.  
"Because that's a ridiculous thing to assume!" My eyes narrowed and I ripped my chin from his grasp. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I don’t have feelings for anyone. Not Levi, not you.” I made myself inevitably clear, enunciating my words and making sure he paid attention. At times, my temper comes out and it was very rare. It was only when people didn’t listen and tried to swipe me under the rug like they knew how to push me around. I spent my whole life like that and I refuse to let it continue. “So cut the crap.” I finished, getting up and leaving his office. My heart was jumping wildly in my chest. I can’t believe I treated Erwin like that, but he was pissing me off. He thought he could just make me forget he was treating me like a piece of meat by batting his pretty blue eyes at me and invading my personal space? Well, he was sorely mistaken.  
I sped past the break room where Levi still resided, him calling me when he saw me bypass the door. I ignored him, something I wouldn’t normally do. When I entered the door to the stairwell, I stopped. Where was I going? I felt I needed to go somewhere Erwin wouldn’t go after me. How many floors were in the building? I decided to find out. I went up the stairs, going as far as they would go. When I reached the door to the roof, I was satisfied. There were five floors, counting the floor level. Did Levi own this entire building? I wouldn’t be surprised, he seemed to make a lot of money. Not ready to go back downstairs, I opened the roof door.  
Stepping onto the roof, the wind messed my hair and clothes up immediately. I sighed at the contentness of it. The sky was greying, like it was about to rain. But that was okay. I didn’t mind rain, really. It was just water. Water dries. I walked to the edge and glanced out at the world of New York before me. If you’d told me I would end up here when I was younger, I’d say you were crazy. Maybe I’m the crazy one, but still. My life was going right. It was hard to believe I could have skipped out on it those years ago. I was reaching towards my dream job with my idol helping.  
I looked down at the ground, people walking to and from work, walking with kids and dogs. Cars honked at each other and cabs picked up people who flagged them down. I heard the door behind me open, and I wasn’t totally sure if I wanted to know who it was.

Levi  
When I heard Erwin’s door open, I looked up from a book of mine to see Eren speeding past the break room. He looked pissed off beyond belief, which made me mad.  
“Eren?” I said before I heard the stairwell door open and close. I was going to raise hell. Setting, or slamming, my cup onto the coffee table and throwing my book to the side, I made my way into the lobby. Erwin was standing in front of his office. He looked confused, scratching his head and furrowing those caterpillars he called eyebrows.  
“What the fuck did you do, asshole?” I asked, my voice wavering in anger.  
“I… may have antagonized him.” He sighed, then rubbed his forehead.  
“Explain.” I demanded. I had every right to know who and why someone was harassing my apprentice.  
“Well, he came to tell me he didn’t feel anything for anyone, including me, and to back off. I didn’t take him seriously so I guess he got mad.” Erwin shook his head. “I didn’t even know he could get mad.”  
I smacked my hand over my face. This dumbass, I swear…  
“He’s human. Of course he gets mad! Everyone has their limits, you dick. Now I have to go find him before something gets broken.”  
Once I went for the stairs, I wondered where the hell he could have gone. My apartment and office were locked, he didn’t even know where Erwin’s and Hanji’s apartments were, so that didn’t leave much. The roof?  
At this thought, my stomach flipped. He wouldn’t… would he? No, I have to give him more credit. That was years ago and his situation was a lot better now. But I couldn’t stop the feeling that something would go wrong. I went up the stairs two at a time, which was a challenge thanks to my short legs, but I did it. While I was going up those stairs, Erwin’s words rattled inside my head. He said Eren didn’t have feelings for anyone. That probably included me. This made my heart hurt slightly, but it wasn’t anything to get so bent about. It was just a little crush that I’d get over soon enough. Eren was just so… out of reach. Sure, he was becoming closer to all of us at the shop, but it seems he hits a wall. Like he refuses to get any more involved in us than he already was. At this realization, a blanket of dissapointment draped over my shoulders.   
When I got to the roof door, I opened it as fast as I could. My breathing was labored considering how fast I made myself move up those damn stairs. There he was, standing at the edge of the roof. My tongue went dry and those stomach rolls that had been happening, worsened.   
“Eren!” I called. He jumped at the harshness of my tone, which I forced myself to soften. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, perplexed.  
“Jesus, Levi. You scared the shit out of me.” He turned around to look at me as he crossed his arms over his chest.   
“Step away from the fucking ledge.” I warned, my voice quiet and holding an undertone of panic.  
Eren’s brow creased, looking the most muddled I’d ever seen.  
“I’m not gonna fall. I was closer to falling when you just had to scream at me a few seconds ago, so thanks for that.” His attitude was amazing. Something I’d never thought I’d hear out of him. It seemed Erwin brought some of that out when he pissed him off. Eren really was an odd person, one of the oddest I had ever met. I blinked and then clenched my fists. Falling? So he wasn’t planning on jumping?  
“Just move. You’re making me nervous.” I demanded. He sighed before stepping forward, closer to me. Relief melded into my features. He threw his arms up as if to say “there, you happy?” “You shithead.” I rubbed my hands over my face. What would I have done if he jumped? I wondered how long it would take for me to get over that one. I pulled my hands down to look at his expression.  
“What? Why are you so upset? It’s not like I was going to fall on purpose…” He sighed, but didn’t stop looking at me. At this I avoided eye contact. “Is that what you thought?” Eren’s voice showed astonishment.   
“No.” I told him, turning around to go back to the stairs.  
“Oh, God. You thought-”  
“I didn’t think shit.” I drilled as my shoulder blades stiffened and I sounded more irritated. Eren grabbed my wrist tightly. He had a strong grip.  
“Levi.” He growled. I didn’t know how to feel about this sudden change in Eren. He was quick to protect himself from speculation and judgment, but I shouldn’t be surprised. His entire life was spent under scrutinizing eyes.   
“Okay, fuck.” I turned around, breaking down enough to tell him what I knew. His grip loosened significantly, but he didn’t let go. His skin was soft and warm against my cold. “Reiner told me. He told me about your attempt when you were younger.”  
When I revealed this, his face dropped and pallor turned ashen. I wanted to hug him and tell him it was okay, that we all make mistakes. So, I guess that was my answer about whether Reiner had been lying or not.   
“H-How the hell does he know?” Eren croaked, his hand dropping from my extremity.  
“He said your foster parents at the time told him when he went there asking. He lied and said he was a friend of yours.” I scratched the back of my neck as Eren ran his fingers through his hair, pulling it at the roots as though he was attempting to stay calm.  
“Goddamn it. They fucking knew I had no friends…” He whispered. Then he looked back at me. “Did… Did he give you details?” In all honesty, I tried not to think of the possible details. Reiner hadn’t given me any.   
“No.” I replied immediately. "Reiner either didn't know, or he didn't want to say."  
Eren looked up with an expression that could only be described as lingering and deep regret mixed with self-pity.  
"I was seventeen. Life sucked and I wanted out." He opened his mouth hesitantly and spoke.  
"Kid, you don't have to-"  
Eren pulled up a finger and held it in the air as if to say "shut up".  
"Those kids that bullied me at school never gave it a rest. It would get the point that panic attacks were the norm before school. My foster parents assumed I did something to provoke them, that I was doing something to upset them without understanding what. Mikasa couldn't be everywhere with me, and I didn't like sucking her into those fights. Although, she could fight ten times better than me. It just wore me down, a foster kid with a dead mom and a father who gave less than two shits, no friends and kids who hated him for no reason. One day, I was in a more than dark place. I came home after a particularly long day at school. I didn't think anyone was home. I went into my room, tied some bedsheets together, and made a makeshift noose." My hands clenched so hard I thought the skin in my palms broke. I didn't like thinking about Eren like this. He was usually smiling, if not trying to make the best of things. He took deep breaths and continued with his story. "I tried hanging myself in my bedroom closet." Allowing my eyes to slip closed, I tried to keep a mental picture from appearing. "Mikasa found me, and then I was sent to a mental care center." I knew Mikasa is his sister, so I thought about how she must have felt finding her brother like that. "I regret it with every ounce of my being. At that point, I just didn't think there was anything going for me. I always had interest in drawing. When I was in the hospital, Mikasa brought me a bunch of magazines. The art ones were boring, so I told her to bring me something more exciting. She found a tattoo based magazine and I loved them. She kept buying me them, and soon I saw you in them. I enjoyed reading about you. One day, I decided that once I graduated from high school and left that institution, I would become a tattoo artist. And to become your apprentice." He had a reminiscent smile on his face, thinking about the past. "I guess in a way you gave me hope to get my life together."  
I became winded as I stared at the guy in front of me. He was young, but he spoke well beyond his years. The guilt of rejecting him the first time was strong. My mouth opened, but I had absolutely no words on this situation.  
"I-I don't know what to say..." I replied, avoiding eye contact with him. Eren spoke, his voice desperate.  
"No, don't do that. Don't treat me or see me any differently. You don't have to act like I'm a ticking bomb about to go off. I'm the same Eren you've known since the day I asked you to be my teacher." As he went on, he started to sound more panicked. "Please, I just want you to treat me like this never happened." Finally, when I looked up at him, he was a lot closer than I thought he'd be. At this angle, I had a perfect view of the creases and shades of his teal eyes. Why was he so beautiful?  
"I wouldn't treat you anything less than the brat who guilt tripped me into taking on another apprentice." I told him, getting lost in his gaze. I was aware I sounded far away and dazed. At this, he smiled. It wasn't one with teeth, but a smile that said he was fine with that.  
"Hey, that was your decision." He smirked. "Do you regret it yet?" The emotion behind these words confused me. They sounded joking, but a background of fright. Like I actually regretted taking him on.  
"...No." I said, completely honest and serious. It was like he didn't expect it and was surprised I didn't joke back with him.  
"Good, cause God knows how long you're stuck with me."


	7. I'm Not A Secretary

Shingeki Ink  
Chapter 7: I’m Not A Secretary  
Eren  
My arm was bombarded with a pins and needles sensation as I leaned my head on my fist. I knocked myself out of my stupor. I’d been staring endlessly out the window in front of my desk. Mikasa was working and I’d locked myself in my room hours ago to get some drawing done. It was a Saturday night, a time I get off sometimes. In reality, I wanted to be at the shop. A certain man with raven black hair and a sarcastic attitude came to mind. I had to drop this ongoing admiration of him. It only served as a reminder as my place in life those years ago. Levi was a normal man. I had to stop thinking of him as someone who gave me purpose. He didn’t even know who I was until I asked to be his apprentice. Someone whom I never met before, couldn’t be that important.   
As these thoughts swarmed my head, I felt a faint vibration in my pocket. When I pulled out the phone, I answered without looking at the caller.  
“Hello?” I said, sounding slightly bored.  
“Hey, kid.” Speak of the devil. Or, think. Whatever. Why was he calling me on my day off?  
“Oh, Levi. What’s up?” I suppose at this, I sounded more enthusiastic than before.  
“Can you come in?” He asked, sounding stressed and angered. Was something wrong?  
“Uh, yeah. Sure. Why?” He groaned as I heard something crash in the background. My eyebrows furrowed.  
“Hanji came down with some fucking bug and I have no secretary. You’re the only one I could call...” When he admitted that I was the only one he could turn to for this job, my stomach warmed. Why not have Erwin do it? He’s not busy all the time and Petra was certainly never so bombed with appointments that she couldn’t do a little deskwork.   
“Okay, well it’ll take me at least an hour to get there. I have to walk.” Beginning to stand and pulling out some clothes.  
“Would you be ready in thirty minutes if I picked you up?” He sounded like he was desperate for me to come as soon as possible. Was having a secretary really that important?   
“I guess?” I said, vaguely confused by this whole situation.  
“Alright. Dress nice, brat. You won’t be a very good secretary if you’re an eyesore.” He said, then followed by hanging up. I shook my head and sighed. At least it gave me something to do. I went into my dresser and pulled out a pair of black jeans that fit my lower body perfectly. As for my shirt, I picked a maroon sweater that was kind of bigger on me and a pair of black, stylish dress shoes. When I went to the bathroom, I used some kind of spray gel that made my hair create nice curls. I had so much hair it was ridiculous.   
I was waiting for Levi for a few minutes before he texted me, saying he was in the apartment parking lot. When I got myself down and to the car, Levi surveyed me.  
“What? Not good enough for your fashion standards?” I asked rolling my eyes. I’d been keen on giving him a hard time about things lately, yet I couldn’t understand why.   
“No. You look nice.” He replied, clearing his throat and pulling out onto the road. I almost did a double take. Nice? He thinks I look nice?  
“Oh, um thanks…” I muttered, my ears growing somewhat warmer. “So, how’s Hanji?”  
“She’ll live.” He replied. “Anyways… I realized it’s been about three months since you made the unfortunate choice of working under me.”  
Had it really been that long? It seemed like it passed in the blink of an eye. It was almost June, meaning I joined in March.   
“Seriously? Time goes by fast.” How much longer was I going to be his apprentice? How long to these apprenticeships usually last? He hummed in agreement. By the time our drive was over, it was almost dark out. When we pulled up to the shop, the lights were off. What the hell? “Um…” I sounded at the sight. Without a word, Levi got out of the car, as did I. “Levi?” I tried asking him. He opened the door, keeping it propped open with his foot and waving me inside. The door shut behind us, leaving my eyes to complete darkness. I couldn’t say it didn’t unnerve me a little.  
I felt a pressure on my back. By the indication of breathing, it was Levi’s chest. Why was he so close to me? Afraid I’d accidentally taken a step back due to the uncomfortableness I felt, I tried moving forward with my arms out. “Levi, what the fu-” I began, but the lights flipped on and people screamed “surprise” loudly. I almost jumped out of my skin, flashes of lights going off in front of me.   
Taking in the scene before me, a sign hung on the wall behind the desk. It said “Happy Three Months”. There were balloons and three inked people standing in front of me. Erwin was smiling brightly at me, while Petra was jumping up and down with Hanji excitedly. Hanji definitely looked fine, although I was no doctor. That’d be a job for my father. Almost flinching at the unpleasant thought, I tried to show more happiness. Off to the side, there was food on a table with drinks. Alcoholic drinks.  
“W-what is this?” I found my voice as I turned to stare at Levi, but also the others.  
“It’s been three months since you joined us. Our lives were getting pretty boring, so we found that throwing a party in your honor would be a nice change.” Petra said, smiling and stepping forward to grab my hands. A smile I couldn’t help spread across my face, my chest constricting and eyes burning.   
These people liked me. They threw me a party. I’ve received more kindness and want here than anywhere in any other time of my life. I didn’t notice a single tear roll down my cheek until Levi was using his sleeve over his hand to wipe it away. My cheeks burned harshly at his action. He didn’t ask what it was about, because he could probably guess why. We made eye contact that allowed me to see the understanding in his gaze. As if we were communicating through our eyes, he nodded with a small smile before continuing into the room to the stereo. I guess they closed shop early, because we began to break into the alcohol.  
The music Levi turned on was low in volume and relaxing. I smiled at the sight of such amazing people. They were gathering around the table, talking and laughing as they chose their poisons. There must have been some kind of satisfied look on my face because Levi approached me.  
“So, were you surprised and shit?” He asked. Shaking my head and rolling my eyes at his words.  
“Obviously.” I joked. “Was this your idea?”  
Levi scoffed under his breath, but didn’t deny it. “Yeah.” He muttered, staring into his glass of wine. Smirking, I couldn’t help but feel bliss from knowing this. He did have some good in his heart after all.  
“Thank you, Levi. This means a lot to me… No one’s done something like this for me in a very long time.” At least, not since one of my birthdays when I was a child. It had all been planned by my mother.   
Levi pursed his perfectly shaped and pink colored lips. “How long?” He wondered. I thought for a moment.  
“My ninth birthday.” I recalled easily, the memories of my somewhat sickly mother lighting the candles on my cake and singing with my dad and Mikasa. Releasing this information made Levi frown.  
“Well, that’s no good. You like getting drunk, Eren?” He threw a half-hearted arm around my shoulders and herded me towards the table of drinks. Not being able to help but laugh at the nice diversion.  
“Who doesn’t?” I asked glancing at my options. There was a bottle of peach flavored Ciroc and a bottle of sprite for mixing. I began to put together my drink, Levi taking mental notes of my likes and dislikes of different alcohol.  
“That’s an odd combination.” Levi quietly commented into the mouth of his wine glass.  
“And you’re drinking wine. How old are you again? Fifty?” I asked with a little giggle. “Did you bring the brownies to the bake sale, Patricia?” I couldn’t help but continuously laughing at my PTA mom jokes.  
Levi’s eyes turned to slits but couldn’t hold back a small smile and a held in chuckle.  
“Very funny, Bright Eyes.” The nickname he hadn’t called me since the photoshoot resurfaced to the most recent part of my brain. Bright Eyes, huh? I didn’t hate the name. Actually, it felt like a nickname of endearment. Smiling at him, I decided to voice my thoughts on this name.  
“Where’d you come up with that nickname?” I asked him as we walked, taking a seat on a couch that adorned the side of the room.   
He shrugged. “You have pretty eyes, so..” He droned off, leaning back into the couch. His knee bumped mine. When he told me this, I felt flustered. The memory of Erwin saying something similar about my eyes replayed. Then, I felt awkward and frightened. When Levi told me this, it was the complete opposite.  
Maybe because Levi wasn’t so creepy about it.  
“Thanks.” I accepted the compliment with ease. If it were Erwin, I’d probably freak out on him. We all just relaxed for a while. At one point, I think everyone was beginning to feel a warmth in their bellies and blood rushing to their faces. We sat in a circle, Levi still sitting next to me. As we continued to drink and lose sense of logic, our thighs had become pressed together. Whether the warmth was so nice or we just failed to notice, neither of us tried moving. Erwin kept glancing between us while Petra and Hanji told stories of their pasts.  
After Hanji finished laughing her ass off at a story about Levi punching an old stalker of hers in the face, she turned to us.  
“Have you ever really hit someone, Eren?” She asked. “Just punched them so hard because you were so…” Hanji clenched her fists in front of her chest and hissed through her teeth angrily.  
I hummed and then remembered something absolutely hilarious. “Okay.” I started by clearing my throat. “I was in highschool, and at this point, I’d been boxing for maybe a few months. My sister had attracted the attention of this kid, Jean. I still hate him to this day.” I sighed as I remembered the nostalgic memory. “He’s just so annoying and all he does is bitch about everything. And he looks like a horse.” Levi choked on a laugh when I said this, probably recalling seeing Jean at the bar when he told me he accepted me as his apprentice. I smiled at him, then continued. “But we argue all the time and one day, he went too far. He was saying some nasty shit about my sister, so I just got up and punched him in the jaw. There was a pretty big bruise on his face for a while and I don’t think I’ll ever regret it.” I downed the rest of the contents of my second drink. Everyone’s words had begun to slur. The night continued, Levi and I slowly becoming closer. At one point, I was sure Levi had his arm resting on my leg. I liked the contact we had. I liked being so attached to him. Although, I wasn’t sure if this was the alcohol talking, or me.  
Erwin would sneak glances at us, a look of disgust on his dashing features anytime he noticed one of us touching the other. It seemed he was jealous.  
Hanji, Petra and Erwin became immersed in a conversation that Levi and I had no involvement in. I stood, no one besides Levi noticing. I refilled my drink as the alcohol pushed through my body upon standing, making me feel light headed.  
“Kid, come with me. I left my phone in my office.” He started for the stairs, so I followed without question. Once we reached the office, I began to lose myself staring out the large window overlooking the nocturnal city that was New York. The moon shown brightly, making my mouth open awe. This was probably the most amazing sight I’ve ever seen.  
“You really do like looking at these kind of things, don’t you?” Levi asked as he went to stand next to me while shoving his phone in his pocket. “I see why.”  
I nodded. “It just makes me feel so free. I never thought I’d be able to get here.”  
When I was finally able to tear my gaze away from the lit skyscrapers and such to turn to my teacher, Levi began staring into my eyes. Most of the time, it seemed that he was quite emotionless besides irritation. But right there, I saw something else. Something soft and kind.  
“Eren.” He uttered. Our chests were so close together, they were about a hairs width from touching. I kept glancing at his lips that had just recently voiced my name. Levi could probably see my intentions in my eyes and that frightened me. When had I become so attracted to him?  
Without warning, Levi grabbed the front of my sweater and crashed our lips together. My surprise was evident, my eyes wide as I tried to break down what was happening. We were kissing. Levi and I were kissing. At this, I soon began to enjoy the feeling while it lasted. His lips were soft as the faint smell of alcohol passed between us. Levi’s hand loosened a little on my chest before it spread flat. Taking a bold move even bolder, I lifted my hand to grip his wrist that wasn’t near my chest. Levi twisted his hand into mine until he could lace our fingers together. The entire situation felt so right, relieving. When we broke apart, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. My neck, cheeks and ears were hot as hellfire. This made Levi smirk, yet he didn’t let go of my hand.   
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while…” He mumbled to me. By this moment, it was too much for my hazy brain to handle. For some reason, I had the inkling he had to be lying. He had to be. This whole thing was just a drunken mistake.  
“Really?” I asked, my voice showing distrust. Catching the annoyance I seemed to radiate, he answered.  
“Yes. Why do you sound so angry?” Levi said, letting go of my hand. I felt like a toy, something only for him to play with. There was absolutely no way he felt that way about me. He was drunk and confused.  
I only shook my head.  
“Because I don’t believe you.” I said the single phrase that just made him scoff in disbelief.  
“I just kissed you, didn’t I?” He propped his hands on his hips as his eyes narrowed.  
“You didn’t really want to. You’re drunk and so am I. I highly doubt this whole situation meant anything to you. Little do you know, it hurts. I feel so many things for you that I don’t even understand, and then you just do this out of the blue when I know there’s nothing there for you.” My voice had risen and became heavy with emotion. “Nothing good can come out of this. What did you think would happen if I got the wrong idea? I’d only get hurt.”  
Levi stared at me, a look of shock coloring his perfect face. It crossed my mind that he wasn’t lying about wanting me for a split second. I couldn’t believe he could take me by surprise like that. He’s gotten in my head, and my heart. I wanted him out.  
“Where the hell is all of this coming from? Eren, I like you.” He growled. “I like you a lot.”  
Taking my hands over my face, I felt my eyes water. Why was everything so damn difficult? Why did I have to have a hard time trusting people? Why couldn’t I just believe his seemingly sober words? I wanted to. I wanted to so bad. Was I possibly the one in the wrong here?  
Levi mumbled my name again, making the ache in my chest worsen. I felt cold fingers begin to pry my hands from my face. Something soft pressed against my cheeks and I realized he was cleaning up my tears once again. Who else would he do that for?  
“I’m sorry.” I said to him. I felt so hopeless. I felt like an asshole. “It’s just so hard to understand that you’re being honest. People have screwed me over again and again. And I’ve admired you for so long. So fucking long and this just doesn’t feel real, none of this feels real. I still think I’m going to wake up in that damn institution and know there’s nothing for me.” I couldn’t help but begin to sob and cower into myself. Even now, I didn’t know if I was overly emotional because of the alcohol in my veins or just because I’m me.   
Suddenly, I was pulled into something. Levi had his arms around my back, burying his face into my neck. I felt his hot breath feather over my skin as my body trembled. No one had given me a hug like this in a long time. I was sure it had to be Mikasa who hugged me last, but this was different. This hug made me feel safe and warm. Hesitantly, I wrapped my arms around his lower back. Without realizing, I began to hug him tightly, like I was afraid he’d turn to mist in my arms. As this happened, Levi began to whisper near my skin.  
“This is real. We’re real, I’m real. I really do care about you and I don’t want you to think I’m lying to you to get a kick out of it. Eren, I may have been drinking but this is the surest I’ve been about things in weeks. You don’t understand how much it gets under my skin when Erwin flirts with you, how mad I got when that Reiner guy fucked with your head. I want to protect you from everything bad, besides myself which I know if selfish… but I can’t help it.” Those words seemed to actually get through to me. A wall I built around my heart had a Levi shaped hole in it. I really hoped I wasn’t going to regret this.  
“You’re not bad, Levi. An ass sometimes, but I can live with it.” I sighed and began to pull away from him. There was an amused look in his eyes.  
“So, are we good?” He asked.  
I nodded. “We are.” For now. I wanted to believe this was the last of our fights and problems, but I knew that wasn’t true.  
“Are we…” Levi began, looking to the side to avoid eye contact. “Closer?”  
I understood what he meant. He wanted to be something other than coworkers or friends.  
“Maybe later…” I told him. Yes, I wanted to be with him in that sense, but there were still some things I needed to work out. “I think I just need some time to adjust.” When he looked back at me, I was surprised by a small smile on his face. His fingers pushed through my hair and came down to rest on my jaw. Not being able to help myself, I leaned into his touch like a dog would. Levi’s quicksilver eyes sparkled.  
“I’m fine with that. But I won’t give up until you give me a definite answer.” It was such a Levi thing to say. He brought me to his lips one more time, this time slower. We savoured each other’s lips, because it was hard to say when we would get this chance again.  
~  
Levi  
I wasn’t sure what came over me. One moment, I was staring into Eren’s dazzling, magnificent blue-green irises lit by the lights from the city, the next I was tasting his lips. I knew I was the one who initiated it. It was idiotic and stupid. I wasn’t thinking. All I knew was that I really, really liked Eren and that he was very close to me. It amazed me. He kissed me back, but then grew angry. It was like he wasn’t sure what he wanted. But that’s okay. I was willing to wait until he understood how he really felt.  
When we kissed the second time, it was much more organized than the first. His lips were soft and warm, his breath smelled of peach and alcohol. His skin was soft under my fingertips and I just wanted to be able to feel this sensation all the time. Yes, I was an asshole sometimes, but not a nonconsensual kind of way. I wouldn’t do anything he wasn’t okay with.  
We went back downstairs after we were done with our moment. The other idiots were talking still, like they hadn’t even notice we were gone. When we walked in, Erwin’s head shot our way. I acted like I didn’t know that Erwin had been giving me the evil eye all night. Was it just because I’ve been getting close with Eren? Most likely.   
He took in our flushed expressions, Eren’s lack of eye contact and messy hair. Erwin was smart sometimes, so he could probably piece together what had happened between us. I didn’t feel bad at all. Eren just happened to like me and not Captain America. That’s not my fault and it wasn’t like I tried making Eren like me. I was a dick all the time. How would that work?  
A blank look overtook Erwin’s face. This was the countenance he made when he was furious; none at all. I knew I was going to get an earful from him, and I didn’t want to deal with that shit. I was happy due to recent events and him throwing a temper tantrum would only dampen it.  
“Levi, can I talk to you?” Erwin said, his voice too emotionless for my liking. Eren and I passed knowing looks, his showing apprehension. I tried conveying that it would all be okay.  
“Sure, Eyebrows.” I said, setting down my drink onto the coffee table as he started towards the break room. Eren took his seat once more.  
Rolling my eyes, I followed the cause of an argument that would ensue.  
I closed the door to the break room while Erwin stood in front of me.  
“Alright. What is it?” Although, I already knew.  
“What happened up there between you and Eren?” He asked, crossing his arms with that same damn sheet of paper look.  
“We played a game of chess.” I said sarcastically before Erwin’s face turned deep red.  
“Oh? And whoever won got a congratulatory kiss?”  
I scoffed.  
“Grow up.” I countered with. He really was acting like we were in highschool again.  
“You know I saw him first,” Erwin said, bordering a growl.  
I was dumbfounded. “He’s not an object, Erwin. He’s a person with feelings. Feelings that just so happen to not be for you.” I shook my head. “Are you upset your charming looks don’t make him faint in your arms? Are you that egotistical?”  
Erwin shook his head. “I like him.”  
“Do you really? Are you sure you like him or just his looks?” Because lets be honest, Eren was beyond adorable. He reminded me of a teddy bear. He was so warm and comforting.   
“You think I’m seriously that shallow? Levi, how long have you known me?” He swung his arms out at his sides in shock.  
“Too long.” I replied, “Even if you do like him more than I believe, it doesn’t matter. He told you to leave him alone, so just back the fuck off.” I turned around and left the room, walking in on Hanji dancing wildly to a different music genre than I put on. Eren was laughing so hard tears pricked the ends of his eyes. His smile was so beautiful and I couldn’t stop my own that spread my lips. I went and sat next to him, allowing our legs to touch all along our thighs. I caught Eren blushing, which only added to his adorability factor.  
By the end of the night, we were all decently drunk. Eren and I had basically become attached at the hip and Erwin couldn’t help but be a brooding mess the entire time, but I didn’t let it bring me down.  
It was when we were all yawning and close to passing out from exhaustion that I realized Eren couldn’t go home.  
“Hey, Brat.” I said suddenly to the kid who was falling asleep with his head resting on my shoulder.   
“Hmm?” He hummed in response, sounding so darling while tired.  
“How’re you getting home?” He lifted his head, letting out another yawn and wiping his eye.  
“I could walk. I’m not too intoxicated anymore.” Even while he said this, his words slurred.  
“No way. You’re crashing at my place.” I denied it immediately. There was no way I was sending a tired, drunk kid out at two in the morning in one of the most dangerous cities that had claimed him once before.  
“With you?” He sounded slightly hesitant. I stood up and stretched my back out, letting out a small grunt.  
“I don’t bite.” I told him, holding a hand out for him to grab and stand up. He did, which left me to wake up Hanji and Petra. Erwin had gone to his apartment a while ago.  
“Hanji.” I said, smacking her in the snoring, open mouthed and drooling face with a black and grey throw pillow from the couch. Her snoring halted as she jumped awake. “Go to bed, shit for brains.”  
She did without complaint, heading for the stairs. Petra warily followed her, after bidding Eren and I goodnight.   
“Should we help her up the stairs?” Eren asked, scratching the back of his head.  
“Nah.” I waved away. She should be okay.  
We began our trek up the stairs and to my apartment. I let him in and started to get ready for bed. I gave Eren some pajama pants and a tee shirt to sleep in while I chose some for myself. When I was done changing in my bathroom and exited to my bedroom. I found Eren in the pajama pants, but no shirt. He was standing with his tan, muscular back facing me. He was in the process of pulling off his sweater. In that moment, I felt the luckiest I have in my entire life while looking at those shoulder blades. My face turned into a space heater. He turned around, still shirtless. When he noticed me standing there, I ripped my head away from him.   
“S-sorry.” I grumbled. My eye’s slid back to look at him one more time, not being able to help it. His cheeks were horribly red while he hurried his shirt on. Considering I was smaller than he was, the shirt was tight on him. I wasn’t complaining, though.  
He brought his arms above his head, groaning and stretching. I heard a few pops from his joints before his pulled his hair back into a bun. Trying not to think of the attractive boy in my bedroom, that I couldn’t make any moves on, I went to the kitchen and poured two glasses of water. Grabbing a bottle of ibuprofen from the bathroom, I placed one glass on each nightstand and the bottle next to mine.  
“We’ll need those in the morning.” I told Eren. He nodded in response.  
“You know I could just sleep on the couch…?” Eren said, sounding nervous as hell.  
“Eren, the couch is uncomfortable and I have a Queen bed.” I shrugged. Eren glanced at the door. “I won’t do anything. Got it? I’m not that shitty of person.” I got into bed and sighed at the softness.  
“I know.” He replied, crawling into bed next to me. I flicked the lamp off, shrouding the room in complete darkness. The only thing I heard was breathing that wasn’t mine. The warmth Eren brought under the covers reminded me that he was here. I curled onto my side, wanting to soak in the heat this stupid, alluring brat radiated. My head spun as I started to fall into darkness in accordance to the rise and fall of Eren’s chest.


	8. Titan vs. Stallion

Shingeki Ink  
Chapter 8: Titan vs. Stallion  
Levi  
I swung my short legs back and forth while resting on the managing desk, quietly observing Eren. The kid sat at his desk, drawing in his sketchbook. I had no appointments at the moment, so I was busy letting myself take in the boy I cared so much about. Sunlight filtered through the window and casted him in an almost heavenly glow. His tan skin shined beautifully and his eyes swirled into deep pools of an algae pond. Lost in thought, he continuously nibbled on the end of his pencil while staring out the window. I kept glancing at his pink lips as they smoothed over the rigid piece of wood. His green orbs slid my way, sensing my heavy gaze. At this point, I didn’t try hiding that I’d been basically checking him out.  
“Levi…” He whined. I smirked as I continued to play with a large rubber band.  
“Yes?” I replied.  
“Stop staring at me. Don’t you have any shame at all?” He stood and closed his book, then pushed in his chair.  
I made a face like I was thinking, then answered simply. “Oddly, not as of late.” I stayed put on the desk as Eren made his way over to me. He leaned against the countertop next to where I was rooted. He crossed his arms, showing the muscle and veins that resided within them. My eyes flicked up to Eren’s face, which was looking straight at me.  
Ever since that drunken night about a week ago, Eren and I had become much closer. Not as close as I’d like to be, but we’re getting there. He allows me to be more obvious with my admiration of him and we have many moments of serenity.  
I picked up my hand and began to run my fingers through his unbelievably curly hair. His cheeks turned reddish.  
“You’re so beautiful I can’t help myself…” I muttered, wanting to slap myself for how I just can’t filter the things I want to say. Hearing my compliment, he turned his head away while placing his hands over his face. His shyness will never cease to adore me.  
He groaned, but in an endearing and joking way. Pulling back my hand, I knocked my shoulder into his.  
“What’re you doing tomorrow?” The shop was closed tomorrow due to it being Sunday. Eren and I hadn’t been together outside of work before, so I was hoping he’d be up to it.  
He hummed, then looked back at me with his hands away from his face.  
“I’m going to the gym.” He said standing up and stretching his arms out in front of himself.  
My eyebrows furrowed. “The gym? Really?” I sounded slightly amazed, but I knew I shouldn’t be. He kept his alluring physique somehow.  
He nodded. “I box, remember?”  
“Oh, yeah.” I recalled. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to how boxing worked, especially if it involved Eren.  
“Why? Did you want to do something?” He asked. I shrugged.  
“It’d be nice.”   
“Come with me.” He said out of absolutely no where. What?  
"What?" I voiced this time.  
"To the boxing gym. I can teach you how to box. I promise I'm not that bad of a teacher. I teach self defense classes when I have the time." One of my eyebrows shot up. He teaches?  
I thought for a moment, pulling my leg up to rest my other leg on in a half criss cross sit. I could get to see a different side of Eren I hadn't before. One that grit his teeth and punched something.   
"Sure." I told him. "Why not. Live life on the edge and all that, huh?" Eren smirked at my words. It was almost like an "you don't know what you're getting into" smirk. And I probably didn't.  
The next day, I picked up Eren. He was wearing a tight, slate grey tee shirt and a pair of red basketball shorts. His hair was pulled back with a few curled strands framing his attractive face.   
I wore long workout pants and a black tank top. I wasn't exactly sure what to wear to box, but I assumed most exercise attire was of the like. Eren gave me directions to the most famous boxing gym in New York. We were almost through the doors when he turned to me.  
"Uh, Levi..." He said, sounding hesitant as his hand tightened around the handle of a duffle bag.. "Just so you know, the people here know me pretty well. And they'll probably start telling you about my reputation here but just know that that me, isn't the one you see everyday. Okay?"  
His words made me gulp. Was it bad?  
"Uh huh. What kind of 'reputation' do you have?" I put air quotes around reputation.   
"You'll see." He waved away. We walked in and the scent of sweat hit my nostrils hard. Sweat was one of my least favorite bodily fluids, but then again, are any of them good? People lifted weights, bench pressed, and practiced self defense. The sound of punching bags being hit filled the entire room. I was busy taking everything in when I heard fast footsteps. I looked up quick enough to catch a girl with blonde hair in a bun on her head flying at Eren with her fist out to punch him. He dodged it easily.   
"Annie, that's playing dirty. You know I wasn't ready." He berated, grabbing her wrist as it extended over his shoulder. There was this sour look on her face.  
"You weren’t expecting it, yet you dodged it." She scoffed, taking her arm back. "The Titan never changes, no matter how long it’s been since he was here last." What the hell was she talking about? Was “The Titan” his stage name or whatever? Boxers do have stage names, right? Eren glanced away from her with a bored expression on his pretty face.  
“If I knew you were here today, I would’ve skipped.” He exhaled dramatically while scratching the back of his neck. The words sounded rude, which was awfully out of character for Eren. I wasn’t sure how I felt about his boxer side.  
“That makes two of us.” Annie agreed, but there was a smidge of amusement in her seemingly shallow, pale blue eyes. Said eyes traveled over Eren’s shoulder to look at me with confusion. “Who’re you, Shorty?”  
I ground my back teeth together, not liking the dryness of her voice.  
“Annie, this is my…” He paused, looking back at me with slight nervousness in his features. “This is Levi Rivaille.” It almost hurt that he didn’t know what I was to him. Although, I knew this was going to be a tough road to be with him in a more serious manner. He was trying as hard as he could, I knew that. I just had to be patient and trustworthy.  
She cocked an eyebrow at him.  
“Nice tatts.” She commented.   
“Thanks.” I ground out. I wasn’t sure why, but this woman was aggravating. Honestly. she seemed almost like a genderbent version of Erwin, which was frightening all on its own.  
“Anyways.” She turned back to Eren, no longer finding my presence of any interest. “Ymir has been asking when you’d show again. You know how she gets when her best fighters go MIA.” Eren seemed to know pretty well how this Ymir woman acts.   
“Yeah, all too well.” He shook his head in shame. “Is she here today or have I been blessed by God himself?”  
Annie smirked to herself. “You’re not that lucky, Jaeger.” The blonde began to walk slowly away. Eren turned to me with an exhausted look.  
“Sorry about her. She’s pretty abrasive.”  
“Reminds me of Erwin.” I mumbled to myself. Eren snorted a laugh and started father into the gym. The brunette put his bag on a bench and sat down on a mat in front of a bunch of mirrors. I stood, staring at him from above.  
“We’re gonna start with stretching. If you pull a muscle, you’ll be sorry.” He remarked ominously. I plopped down in front of him and tried replicating his stretches. First, Eren pulled his arms behind his head. This wasn’t too bad, so I did it easily. The next thing was a little less simple. He pulled one leg out to the side in an almost 180 degree. Following this, he bent down at his hips and reached his arm across the length of his leg.   
A couple more stretches I uselessly couldn’t copy as well as Eren later, he was sitting normally.  
He looked up at me suddenly, green eyes surveying my muscles, making my face grow slightly warm. “You might actually be able to throw a couple of good punches.” He muttered, then cleared his throat. “But for now, I think we’ll start with the basics.”  
He stood, then helped me up. When our hands became connected, I didn’t want to let go.  
“The first thing I think is the most obvious is how to punch. People think it’s easy, but by thinking this, they may actually cause more harm to themselves.” Eren began. He held his hand up, open and straight. “Close your four fingers, then rest your thumb where your fingers curl. You could hurt your thumb putting it over top of your fingers, and you’ll most likely break it if you put it inside them.” He demonstrated, then told me he was going to push my shoulder lightly with his fist to show how smooth the movement of your arm should be.  
“Okay, now you do it to me.” I did. “Good, now put a little more pressure into it and speed. Punch me, not too hard, in the chest.” I let my fist smack square into his chest, making me realize it had the hardness of a rock. He smiled, not seeming fazed by my hit. “Good.”   
“Now, we’re going to work on-” He was cut off by a yell.  
“Jaeger!” At this, his eyes rolled so hard I thought they could have fallen out of his skull. He started rubbing his forehead while groaning as someone approached us. I recognized his long features   
and horrid undercut.  
“What, horseface?” Eren asked him as the kid stood facing him.  
“Where the hell have you been? Ymir’s been kicking my ass since you haven’t been here!” I recalled his name was Jean as he continued to bitch.  
“I have an apprenticeship, remember? A little more important than boxing.” He crossed his arms. and narrowed his eyes. “Plus, you need the practice. Mikasa doesn’t like flabby guys.”  
A dangerous aura entered the room as Jean stepped closer to Eren, their noses almost touching.  
“I think you owe me a match, Titan.” He breathed in Eren’s face. This guy seemed so much more annoying than he was described as. Now, I understood why Eren punched him before. Eren shoved Jean away.  
“And I think you need a breath mint.” He scoffed. “And I can’t. I’m busy here. Now, gallop away little horsey.” Jean turned to look at me, to which I raised an eyebrow to.  
“You’re Levi Rivaille.” He said, his voice showing some type of wonder.  
“Yeah.” I said simply. This guy seemed to know who I was. Jean preceded to glance back and forth between Eren and I, like he was missing something.  
“Why’re you here with this scrub?” Jean asked me, in a low voice. I’ve known this kid for about five minutes and I already want to hit him. What was his big issue with Eren in the first place?  
“Why’re you talking to me? Unless, you so kindly want a foot up your ass.” I found my voice. Jean’s eyebrows skyrocketed.   
“Damn, you’re rude.” He breathed, shaking his head. “I guess I see how you and Jaeger get along.” I didn’t understand what he meant. Eren was completely different from me. He was kind, most of the time. Me, being the opposite, scared people with my shit attitude. “Anyway, did he tell you? He’s a damn good fighter. Ymir treats him like crap, but that’s only because he’s her favorite and everyone knows it.” Jean went on. “He’s always been at least a decent fighter, unless outnumbered…” Horseface glanced behind his shoulder, a brooding Eren staring into his soul. There was something about the way he said “outnumbered”. How long did Eren say he’s known him? High school? I feel like he was talking about how he had been bullied and harassed all his teenage life. “Oh, and he’s so good apparently that Ymir wants him to go to-”  
“Jean!” Eren snapped, stepping closer to the kid who wouldn’t shut up. What was Jean going to say? Eren’s eyes were alive with fire and had actually seemed to darken. His jaw was taught as his hands clenched at his sides, revealing usually hidden veins and muscles in his forearms. “Will you just shut the fuck up for once in your life?”  
Jean made a face like he was thinking. “No. Fight me.” He growled. The cold look on Eren’s face seemed to have almost murderous intentions.  
“I thought I heard yelling.” A woman’s voice said. What the hell? Now who was here? How many people does Eren know at this gym? “I knew you would be the source behind it, Titan.” She walked into the room with bandaged hands on her hips. Her eyes were bored and uncaring as they swiped over Eren’s stiff form. Her skin was like his in a way, dark. But she had freckles all over her cheeks while her brown hair was pulled into a ponytail. In all honesty, she looked like one of the most badass girls I’ve ever seen.  
“Ymir.” Eren greeted with a short nod. So, this was Ymir? Who was she? It seemed she was maybe the owner of this place. The woman walked up to Eren. The two had a heavy staredown before Ymir pulled her fist back to punch him. I closed my eyes and flinched, but didn’t hear the sound of skin being smacked. Opening my eyes, I saw Eren had his hand around her fist, stopping it just before it hit his nose. “Nice reflexes, as ever.” There was praise in her eyes, but Eren’s were still heavy.   
She backed away slightly and crossed her toned arms over her green tank top. “What’s the problem here, Seabiscuit?” Her head tilted towards Jean. His face grew slightly red at the name she called him. “I want to have a match with Jaeger here but he’s a stubborn, little bit-” Eren broke off his tantrum.  
“Fine!” He relented, then looked at me with apologetic eyes. I understood the things pride makes you do sometimes. He went to his duffle bag and began pulling out gear, when Jean snatched them from his hands.   
“Bare knuckle.” He simply said.  
Eren’s eyes went wide. “Jean, you’re fucking insane.”  
“Did I hear bare knuckle over here?” Ymir poked her head in.   
“Yeah, it’s the sound of horseface committing suicide.” Eren replied, throwing his hands up in frustration. I shook my head at Eren. He really was stubborn, wasn’t he?  
“You know that bare knuckle is… well, not illegal, but…” Ymir struggled for words. “It’s a grey area in the face of the law.”  
The kid who apparently just wanted to beat the shit out of Eren, laughed. “What? Are the police going to break down the door because there’s some fighting? At a boxing gym?” He threw his arms up and rolled his eyes. “Who woulda thought?”  
Eren stepped in after careful consideration. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it, as long as you’re okay with your face on the bottom of that ring because I’m not holding back. You’ve pissed me off enough today.” Eren slammed his bag down and bypassed everyone crowding around him and came my way. His hand grabbed my wrist, not too tightly and pulled me with him to leave the room. I followed with ease, mostly because I was happy at the skin contact. Eren hardly ever initiated any touching, so it was a good day when he did.  
He brought me to some locker room where he began to stressfully pull at his hair.  
“I fucking hate, Jean.” He muttered.  
“Eren, that wasn’t a smart thing to do.” I told him, considering his issue with pain. “He’s gonna mess up your pretty face. What about your condition? Won’t it hurt really bad?” I told him, coming close to him and placing my hand on his strong featured cheek. He smiled a little while his eyes fluttered closed and nuzzled into my hand a little. My god, he was cute. When his eyes opened, they held determination. I allowed my hand to slip from his face.  
“They don’t know about that.” My eyes widened. “I don’t want to tell them because then they won’t let me box anymore.”  
“Eren.” I chided. How the hell could he not have told them? Wouldn’t they notice if he was in pain more than he should be? Does he just hold it in?   
“Don’t worry. I’ll win, and hopefully with minimal damage.” He sighed, letting his eyes trail over my face. Suddenly, he shot out and placed a feathery kiss on my cheek. My skin warmed instantly. When he pulled away, he looked kind of flushed as well. When he noticed my questioning glance, he explained. “For good luck.” He shrugged.  
My eyebrow cocked and a smirk became present on my face. “Well, if that’s the case…” I cupped Eren’s face and pulled him down to kiss me for real. He didn’t back away or deny me, so I advanced. Our lips met, his being so soft and comforting I didn’t want to let him go.  
When we separated, I mumbled something near his mouth.  
“Please, be careful.” I felt him hum in agreement, so I let him go to do his thing. I followed him back towards the ring. People gathered around it, Jean already being in his corner. Eren took off his shirt and climbed into the ring. This was no time for me to admire his godlike body, but I couldn’t help it when I was already so attracted to him. Jean wore a tight tank top and no gear to protect himself.  
“Ready to be embarrassed in front of your teacher, Jaeger?” This kid trash talked. Eren stretched his arms out and cracked his knuckles. His eyes found mine and I simply nodded. A small smile reached his face which didn’t seem right for what was going to ensue. A boy with short, black hair and looked far too kind for this type of hobby got into the ring. He glanced nervously between the two boys who were hellbent on fighting bare knuckled. He shook his head and began to announce them.  
“In this corner!” He yelled to the crowd of fellow exercisers and boxers. “We have a two time heavyweight champion, Eren Jaeger, also known as the Titan!” People cheered, and I couldn’t help but feel amazed. I didn’t know that Eren was so into this boxing thing. He rarely talks about it. It seems these people have a lot of faith in him. And he was more popular among this community than I thought. “And in this corner we have Jean Kirstein, the Stallion!” I saw Eren roll his eyes at Jean's name, which was quite understandable. I heard this kid talking to them, trying to minimize the injuries. “Okay, guys. Please don’t go overboard. No playing dirty. That means you, Jean.” The kid pointed his finger to the horsefaces chest. Jean waved him off.  
“Alright, Marco, let’s just get this over with.” I heard Eren complain. Marco sighed and waved them to start. Their hands went up in position as the crowd started yelling who they wanted to win. Eren’s name was quite popular, but Jean’s could be heard as well. They danced around in a circle in the middle of the ring. Jean threw the first punch, but Eren moved his head just in time. Eren retaliated suddenly with a blow to his opponent's jaw. He stumbled back a little, but didn’t break fighting stance. It went on, the two dodging each other’s punches.   
“They’re pretty stupid, right?” Someone said. I looked over to see Annie watching the match with her hands planted on her hips.   
“You could say that.” I did think bare knuckling was idiotic. I’ll bet I’m going to be the one to clean Eren up when he’s all bloody and bruised.  
“How long have you known Eren?” She asked.  
I shrugged. “A few months. Why?”  
Annie shook her head. “It’s almost like he has a bunch of different personalities, huh?” So, I wasn’t the only one who noticed?  
I nodded. “Sometimes he’s unbelievably nice, the next he’s a sarcastic brat.” I covered my mouth with my hand as Jean landed a hit to Eren’s nose, blood beginning to dribble from it. The brunette hissed. I tried not to think about how painful that was for him.   
“It almost gives me whiplash…” She commented. When I looked back at her, she was already looking at me. “You care about him?” I hesitated at the question for a few seconds.  
“Yes.” I answered truthfully.  
“Must be hard for you to see him get hurt and not able to do anything about it.” She was damn right. “It also sucks that you were unfortunate enough to fall for someone like him.” At this, I turned away from her so she couldn’t see the glare.  
“What do you mean ‘someone like him’?” I asked in an almost growling tone.  
“Eren’s cold. He doesn’t let anyone in and if he does, it doesn’t last long. His heart’s an empty void he refuses to fill. So, he goes around hurting people without even knowing it.” Annie sighed as though she was speaking from experience. “We’re a lot alike in that sense.”   
Eren clipped Jean a couple more times in the face, one of his eyes starting to swell. Jean got a few good ones in. From what I could tell, Eren had swelling on his cheekbone, a split lip, bruising nose, and maybe a split eyebrow. Both looked sweaty and exhausted. They’d gone all out within the first round, making them not able to continue very well. Eren swooped in and gave an amazing uppercut. Jean fell back and laid on the floor while Eren breathed heavily. A bell rang, signalling the match’s end. I was anxious to get to my favorite brat as he dropped to his knees in the middle of the floor. I pushed past everyone and slid into the area. I guess Annie followed me.  
“Eren, look at me.” I told him, kneeling in front of him. Disoriented, his head wobbled to look up at me. I tried not to wince at how he looked. Blood dried and bruises started to color his once perfect face. I placed my hand on his slick, bare shoulder. “Damnit, I knew this was a bad idea.”  
Annie helped me get him to the locker room when we let him sit on a bench. I made him lean against a locker so I could keep him up. I turned to the blond who simply stared at him without a stitch of emotion. Yep, just like Erwin.  
“Ice?” I asked her. She nodded and left.  
“So?” Eren said, his voice rusty sounding. “What’d you think? Pretty badass right?”  
I shook my head. “It was idiotic. Look at you!”  
He coughed on a chuckle. “But totally worth it. I got to beat the shit out of horseface.” He turned serious a couple seconds later. “I’m sorry. I didn’t honestly expect this to happen. We were supposed to have fun and bond, but here you are helping me clean up my bloody face.” Eren seemed to feel truly bad about it.  
“It’s okay. Disappointing, maybe, but at least I got to see a different side of you. There’s so much about you I don’t know and I want to understand you better.” Not only was he cute and talented, he was strong and badass. Honestly, I don't know what else I could ask for. Eren smiled sadly.   
"I'm sorry." He said suddenly. "Im such a handful." He muttered as he began to lean forward.  
“Woah, wait what’re you doing? Aren’t you supposed to lean back for a bloody nose?” I asked, placing my hands on his still naked shoulders.  
“No, that’s just a way for the blood to not get everywhere. If you do that, the blood will go down your throat and irritate your stomach.” He replied with, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If Annie could hurry up…” A guttural groan belted from his mouth as he placed a hand on the bench, looking for stability.  
“You’re in a lot of pain.” I muttered, just staring at the mess before me. He glanced up at me from the side, then shrugged his shoulders. "How does that pain tolerance thing work anyways?" I asked, simply curious as to what he goes through.  
"Apparently, every moment of pain is multiplied by 10 for me. It sucks, but I know nothing else so it doesn't matter all that much." He grumbled. "The only thing I really, really hate about this is that I can't get tattoos."   
I couldn't help but chuckle a little when he mentioned this. At first, I found it to be bullshit that he has no tattoos when he wants to be a tattoo artist. When he explained why, I still had doubts. But it was obvious he wasn't lying or making excuses.  
Anni came in and handed me a first aid kit and an ice pack. I placed the ice against the space around his nose and made him hold it there. I proceeded to start cleaning his cuts and shit. His skin was slightly ashen and gave a cold vibe, but it was soft and smooth beneath my fingertips. Annie glanced between us a couple of times, rolling her eyes in the process. I hadn't forgotten about her talk with me about Eren's habits. I wanted to forget what she said about him, but it wasn't that easy. If I wanted to get this thing with him to work out, and an annoyingly bland voice telling me he's basically a heartless robot wasn't helping. It seemed Annie wasn't too happy with the arrangement between Eren and I. I wanted to know more, but I knew Annie wouldn't tell me shit. Eren seemed like a better bet.   
"How's Jean?" Eren asked the blonde when he was able. She smirked.  
"Unconscious." She answered. Eren flinched when I gripped his chin suddenly to continue cleaning any open fissures in his skin. Immediately, I gave him space. He shook his head, seemingly at himself, then allowed me to reach for his chin once more.   
"Should I feel bad?" He asked quietly. It struck me as odd, this question. I wanted to say that Jean deserved it, but I couldn't help but feel he may lack empathy.  
"I wouldn't." Annie replied "Plus, he's absolutely insane and stupid. He never wins in actual matches with you, what makes him think a bare knuckle would be any better?" She shook her head and scoffed loudly. "You're just too strong, Titan." She sighed sarcastically.  
"I'm average." Eren corrected. "I don't know why everyone insists that I'm some hurricane with a hit list." He stood, and started nervously pacing. I leaned my hands on my knees. Annie laughed loudly, catching both of our attentions.   
"That can't be true. I'm great at fighting, and you keep me on my toes. No one around here wins against me, but you're the only one I know I have competition with. So, you have to be at least a little good, right?” Annie walked up to him, making unbroken eye contact. There seemed to be some kind of silent telepathy going on between them, making me feel like they had some secret I didn’t know about. Who were they to each other that Annie spoke so familiarly of Eren? “Let’s meet up for drinks tonight.” She dropped the bomb that made my hands tighten into balls on my lap. That’s it. I knew it. They have something together.  
“Annie…” He began, wiping a hand over his opposing arm, breaking heavy eye contact.  
“As friends.” She tried again, trying to salvage his answer. When he looked back up at me, I made sure I didn’t make any sudden movements or indicated I was paying attention.   
“I’m sorry, I-”  
“Right. I’m not surprised. I should be able to predict like a fucking psychic how these conversations go.” She backed up, emotional hurt forming her sloppy and pissed off movements. She exited the room quickly without sparing me a simple glance.  
“That didn’t seem fair.” I said into the quiet and awkward room. Eren jeered.  
“Anything she does is unfair.” He argued. “I was beginning to forget why I stopped coming here. Thank fucking God I remembered.” The brunette pulled his hair up. “I need a shower.” I shook my head at his complaining. I supposed that was his cue for us to leave.  
The brat went upstairs, so I followed. He cleaned up his gear and grabbed his bag. He pulled out a different shirt from his back and threw it on, being careful of his face. The Ymir woman called out to him as he began walking through the gym.  
“Titan. When will you be back?” She asked. Eren stopped, turned around and shrugged.   
“I don’t know. Maybe when the people here grow up.” He grumbled, completely and utterly irritated. I wasn’t exactly sure what caused his attitude, but I didn’t know how long I’d be able to ignore it without saying something.  
Ymir didn’t try defending her gym or the people in it. She just stared at him as he started for the door again. I followed silently, hoping he’d calm down soon.  
Through the quiet drive, Eren realized he didn’t have his apartment key. According to him, his sister was working a late shift and wouldn’t be home. It was then, I offered for him to stay with me.  
“You can use my shower, I’ll make dinner and we can watch television series. What do you say? It’s a hard thing to turn down.” I said with a small smile. He hadn’t said a word the entire time except when he broke about his forgotten keys. He thought for a moment, but not before smirking.  
“Okay. Fine. Let’s have a….” He stopped, his cheeks getting slightly red. “A date night.” He finished. At that moment, I didn’t give a single fuck as to what past he had with Annie. All I could think about was that he just called this a date night. The possibility that he’s had a date night with Annie didn’t enter my mind. I didn’t care what kind of past he had, because I want to be his future. Hopefully, I don’t fuck this up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Whats up I'm sorry I've been pumping out chapters at random times. I'm mostly centered on Shingeki Ink rn instead of Afterlife but i'm still going to do it. Thanks for sticking around this entire time for eight measly chapters. <3


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